FRED  M.  DEWITT 


I 


HISTOKY 


OP  THE 


ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH, 


BY 


'Tis  not  in  mortals  to  command  success ; 

Bat  we'll  do  more,  Sempronius— we'll  deserve  it. 

ADDISON'S  CATO. 


THIRD   EDITION". 


NEW-YORK : 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER   &   CO.,   654  BROADWAY. 
1869. 


Entered,  according  to  ActSaf'Ongresg,  rQth^j^Kir^lcj}^  by  HENRY  M.  FIELD,  in  the 
Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  State?  £gr  the  Southern  District 
of  New-York.  «"<  ''.!*!*•?'•'*••  J  c". 


PKEFACE. 


MANKIND  worship  success  but  think  too  little  of 
the  means  by  which  it  is  attained.  What  toil  and 
patience  have  gone  before ;  what  days  and  nights  of 
watching  and  weariness ;  how  often  hope  deferred  has 
made  the  heart  sick ;  how  year  after  year  has  dragged 
on,  and  seen  the  end  still  afar  off — all  that  counts  for 
little,  if  the  long  struggle  do  not  close  in  victory. 
And  yet  in  the  history  of  human  achievements,  it  is 
necessary  to  trace  these  beginnings  step  by  step,  if  we 
would  learn  the  lesson  they  teach,  that  it  is  only 
out  of  heroic  patience  and  perseverance  that  any 
thing  truly  great  is  born. 

The  object  of  this  volume  is  to  record  the  history 
of  a  great  enterprise,  which,  after  many  disappoint- 
ments, seems  at  last  to  have  touched  its  hour  of  tri- 
umph. It  is  a  work  which  has  cost  its  projector  twelve 
years  of  constant*  toil,  and  more  than  fifty  voyages, 
of  which  two  thirds  have  been  across  the  Atlantic, 

314933 


IV  PEEFACE. 

and  tlie  rest  to  Newfoundland ;  and  which  has  been 
pursued  in  the  face  of  a  thousand  difficulties,  and, 
what  was  harder  still,  of  a  public  incredulity,  which 
sneered  at  every  failure,  and  derided  the  attempt  as 
a  delusion  and  a  dream.  Against  such  discourage- 
ments nothing  could  avail  but  that  faith,  or  fanaticism, 
which,  believing  the  incredible,  achieves  the  impos- 
sible. The  story  of  such  an  enterprise  deserves  to 
be  told.  The  relation  of  the  writer  to  the  principal 
actor  in  this  work,  has  given  him  peculiar  facilities 
for  obtaining  information  on  all  points  necessary  to 
an  authentic  history ;  but  he  trusts  it  will  not  lead 
him  to  overstep  the  strictest  limits  of  modesty.  His 
object  is  not  to  exalt  an  individual,  but  to  give  a 
faithful  record,  that  shall  bear  in  every  line  the  stamp 
of  truth ;  and  to  do  justice  to  all,  on  both  sides  the 
Atlantic,  who  have  borne  a  part  in  a  work  which  will 
do  so  much  to  link  together  two  great  nations,  and  to 
promote  the  peaceful  intercourse  of  mankind 

NEW- YORK,  April,  1867. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD,  BY  COLUMBUS.  RELATIVE  POSITION 
OP  THE  TWO  HEMISPHERES.  NEAREST  POINTS — THE  OUTLYING  IS- 
LANDS, IRELAND  AND  NEWFOUNDLAND.  FIRST  SUGGESTION  OF  A 
SHORTER  WAY  TO  EUROPE.  LETTER  OF  BISHOP  MULLOCK.  THE 
ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH  COMPANY  OF  NEWFOUNDLAND.  LABORS  OF  MR. 
F.  N.  GISBORNE.  FAILURE  OF  THE  COMPANY. 

CHAPTER    II. 

MR.  GISBORNE  COMES  TO  NEW- YORK.  Is  INTRODUCED  TO  CYRUS  W. 
FIELD,  WHO  CONCEIVES  THE  IDEA  OF  A  TELEGRAPH  ACROSS  THE  AT- 
LANTIC OCEAN.  Is  IT  PRACTICABLE  ?  Two  ELEMENTS  TO  BE  MASTERED, 
THE  SEA  AND  THE  LIGHTNING.  INQUIRIES  ADDRESSED  TO  LIEUTENANT 
MAURY  AND  PROFESSOR  MORSE.  ANSWER  OF  LIEUTENANT  MAURY. 
VISIT  OF  PROFESSOR  MORSE.  MR.  FIELD  DETERMINES  TO  EMBARK  IN 
THE  UNDERTAKING. 

CHAPTER    III. 

EFFORTS  TO  ENGAGE  CAPITALISTS  IN  THE  ENTERPRISE.  PETER  COOPER, 
MOSES  TAYLOR,  MARSHALL  0.  ROBERTS,  AND  CHANDLER  WHITE.  COM- 
MISSION SENT  TO  NEWFOUNDLAND.  THEY  OBTAIN  A  NEW  CHARTER 
FOR  THE  NEW-YORK,  NEWFOUNDLAND,  AND  LONDON  TELEGRAPH  COM- 
PANY. RETURN  TO  NEW- YORK.  THE  CHARTER  is  ACCEPTED,  THE 
COMPANY  ORGANIZED,  AND  THE  CAPITAL  RAISED. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  LAND-LINE  BEGUN  IN  NEWFOUNDLAND.  IMMENSE  UNDERTAKING. 
FOUR  HUNDRED  MILES  OF  ROAD  TO  BE  BUILT.  Two  YEARS  OF  LABOR. 
FIRST  ATTEMPT  TO  LAY  A  CABLE  ACROSS  THE  GULF  OF  ST.  LAWRENCE, 
IN  1855.  FAILURE.  SECOND  ATTEMPT,  IN  1856,  WHICH  is  SUCCESS* 

FUL. 


VI  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    V. 

THE  DEEP-SEA  SOUNDINGS.  THE  OLD  METHOD  OP  BALL  AND  LINK. 
MASSEY'S  INDICATOR.  INVENTION  OP  LIEUTENANT  BROOKE.  CRUISK 
OP  THE  DOLPHIN  IN  1853,  AND  OP  THE  ARCTIC  IN  1856.  THE 
BRATE  LIEUTENANT  BERRYMAN.  SOUNDINGS  BY  COMMANDER  DAYMAN, 
OP  THE  BRITISH  NAVY,  IN  THE  CYCLOPS,  IN  1857.  THE  BED  OP 
THE  ATLANTIC*  DEPTHS  IN  DIFFERENT  PARTS.  THE  TELEGRAPHIC 
PLATEAU.  SUBMARINE  MOUNTAIN  OFF  THE  COAST  OP  IRELAND. 

CHAPTER    VI. 

MR.  FIELD  GOES  TO  ENGLAND  TO  ORGANIZE  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH 
COMPANY.  CONFERS  WITH  JOHN  \V.  BRETT.  SEEKS  COUNSEB  OP 
ENGINEERS  AND  ELECTRICIANS.  RESULT  OP  EXPERIMENTS.  APPLIES 
TO  THE  GOVERNMENT  FOR  AID.  LETTER  FROM  THE  TREASURY. 
ENTERS  INTO  AN  AGREEMENT  WITH  MESSRS.  BRETT,  BRIGHT,  AND 
WHITEHOUSE  TO  FORM  A  COMPANY.  THE  ENTERPRISE  BROUGHT 
BEFORE  THE  BRITISH  PUBLIC.  CAPITAL  RAISED  AND  COMPANY  OR- 
GANIZED. CHOICE  OF  A  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS.  CONTRACT  FOR  THE 
CABLE. 

CHAPTER    VII. 

MR.  FIELD  RETURNS  TO  AMERICA.  STARTS  IMMEDIATELY  FOR  NEW- 
FOUNDLAND.  RETURNS  AND  GOES  TO  WASHINGTON,  TO  SEEK  AlD 
FROM  THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT.  OPPOSITION  IN  CONGRESS.  THE 
CABLE  AMONG  THE  POLITICIANS.  DEBATE  IN  THE  SENATE.  SUPPORT 
OP  MR.  SEWARD  AND  MR.  RUSK.  BILL  PASSED. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

RETURN  TO  ENGLAND.  THE  NIAGARA — CAPTAIN  HUDSON.  THE  AGA- 
MEMNON. EXPEDITION  or  1857.  SAILING  FROM  IRELAND.  SPEECH 
OP  THE  EARL  OP  CARLISLE.  THE  CABLE  BROKEN. 

CHAPTER    TX. 

PBEPARATIONS  FOR  A  SECOND  EXPEDITION.  MR.  FIELD  is  MADE  THE 
GENERAL  MANAGER  OP  THE  COMPANY.  MR.  EVERETT  AND  THB 
PAYING-OUT  MACHINE.  THE  VALOROUS  TAKES  THE  PLACE  OP  THK 

SUSQUEHANNA.       THE   SQUADRON   ASSEMBLE   AT    PLYMOUTH.      TlIEY    GO 


CONTESTS.  vii 

TO  SEA,  JUNE  10.     HEAVY  GALE.     THE  AGAMEMNON  IN  DANGER  OP 
BEING  FOUNDERED.      THE  CABLE  LOST   THREE  TIMES.      THE  SHIPS 

RETURN     TO     ENGLAND.        MEETING    OF   THE    DIRECTORS.       SHALL    THEY 
ABANDON   THE   PROJECT?      ONE   MORE   TRIAL. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  SHIPS  SAIL  ON  A  SECOND  EXPEDITION.  THEY  MEET  IN  MID-OCEAN. 
SUCCESSFUL  VOYAGE.  CABLE  LANDED  IN  IRELAND  AND  NEWFOUND- 
LAND. 

CHAPTER  XL 

NEWS  OF  THE  SUCCESS.  GREAT  EXCITEMENT  IN  AMERICA.  POPULAR 
ENTHUSIASM.  CELEBRATION  IN  NEW- YORK  AND  OTHER  CITIES. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SUDDEN  STOPPAGE  OF  THE  CABLE.  REACTION  OF  PUBLIC  FEELING. 
GRAVE  SUSPICIONS  OF  BAD  FAITH.  DID  THE  CABLE  EVER.  WORK? 
DECISIVE  PROOF. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

ATTEMPTS  TO  REVIVE  THE  COMPANY.'  PROFOUND  DISCOURAGEMEET.  I 
APPLIES  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT  FOR  AlD,  WHICH  DECLINES  TO  GIVE  AN 
UNCONDITIONAL  GUARANTEE.  FAILURE  OF  THE  RED  SEA  TELEGRAPH. 
SCIENTIFIC  EXPERIMENTS.  CABLES  LAID  IN  THE  MEDITERRANEAN 
AND  THE  PERSIAN  GULF.  EFFORTS  TO  RAISE  CAPITAL  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES  AND  IN  ENGLAND.  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  NEXT 
FIVE  YEARS. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  ENTERPRISE  RENEWED.  PROPOSALS  FOR  ANOTHER  CABLE.  GREAT 
IMPROVEMENT  ON  THE  OLD.  GENEROUS  OFFER  OF  THE  MANUFACTUR- 
ERS TO  TAKE  HALF  THE  CAPITAL.  TlIE  WORK  BEGUN.  TlIE  GREAT 

EASTERN  AND  CAPTAIN  ANDERSON.     THE  WHOLE  CABLE   SHIPPED  ON 
BOARD  IN  THE  SPRING  OF  1865.     EXPEDITION  IN  JULY. 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

RESULT  OP  THE  EXPEDITION  OP  1865.  CONFIDENCE  STRONGER  THAN 
EVER.  INSTANT  RESOLVE  TO  RAISE  THE  BROKEN  END  OF  THE  CABLE, 
TO  COMPLETE  IT  TO  NEWFOUNDLAND,  AND  TO  LAY  ANOTHER  LlNE. 
NEW  SHARES  ISSUED.  METHOD  DECLARED  UNAUTHORIZED  BY  LAW. 
FORMATION  OF  THE  ANGLO-AMERICAN  TELEGRAPH  COMPANY.  CAPITAL 
RAISED.  NEW  CABLE  MADE  AND  SHIPPED  o\  BOARD  THE  GREAT 
EASTERN. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE  EXPEDITION  OF  1866.  IMMENSE  PREPARATIONS.  RELIGIOUS  SERV- 
ICE AT  VALENTIA.  SAILING  OF  THE  FLEET.  DIAR.Y  OF  THE  VOYAGE. 
CABLE  LANDED  AT  HEART'S  CONTENT. 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

THE  SHIPS  RETURN  TO  MID -OCEAN  TO  SEARCH  FOR  THE  CABLE  LOST 
THE  YEAR  BEFORE.  MODE  OF  DRAGGING  IN  THE  DEEP  SEA.  RE- 
PEATED ATTEMPTS  AND  FAILURES.  GRAPNEL  CAST  THIRTY  TIMES. 
CABLE  FINALLY  RECOVERED  AND  COMPLETED  TO  NEWFOUNDLAND. 
CONCLUSION. 

APPENDIX. 

HONORS  CONFERRED  IN  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA. 


, '  ' 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 


CHAPTER     I. 

DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD,  BY  COLUMBUS.  RELATIVE  POSITION  OP 
THE  TWO  HEMISPHERES.  NEAREST  POINTS — THE  OUTLYING  ISLANDS, 
IRELAND  AND  NEWFOUNDLAND.  FIRST  SUGGESTION  OF  A  SHORTER  WAY 
TO  EUROPE.  LETTER  OF  BISHOP  MULLOCK.  THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH 
COMPANY  OF  NEWFOUNDLAND.  LABORS  OF  MR1.  F.  N.  GISBORNE. 
FAILURE  OF  THE  COMPANY. 

WHEN  Columbus  sailed  from  tlie  shores  of  Spain, 
it  was  not  in  search,  of  a  New  World,  but  only  to  find 
a  nearer  path  to  the  East.  He  sought  a  western  pas- 
sage to  India.  He  had  come  to  the  belief  that  the 
earth  was  round ;  but  he  did  not  once  dream  of  another 
continent  than  the  three  which  had  been  the  ancient 
abodes  of  the  human  race — Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa. 
All  the  rest  was  "  the  great  deep."  Hence  he  believed 
that  he  could  sail  direct  from  Spain  to  India ;  that  ove  * 
that  space,  covering,  as  he  then  supposed,  one  third  of 
the  round  globe,  the  billows  rolled  without  a  shore. 
No  undiscovered  continent  existed  even  in  his  imagia- 


ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ation.  Nay,  after  be  had  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and 
descried  the  green  woods  of  Sari  Salvador  rising  out 
of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  he  thought  he  saw  before  him 
one  of  the  islands  of  the  Asiatic  coast.  Cuba  he  be- 
lieved was  a  part  of  the  mainland  of  India ;  Hay  ti  was 
the  Ophir  of  King  Solomon ;  and  when,  on  a  later 
voyage,  he  came  to  the  broad  mouth  of  the  Orinoco, 
and  saw  it  pouring  its  mighty  flood  into  the  Atlantic, 
he  rejoiced  that  he  had  found  the  great  river  Gihon, 
which  had  its  rise  in  the  garden  of  Eden !  Even  to 
the  hour  of  his  death,  he  remained  ignorant  of  the  real 
extent  of  his  magnificent  discovery.  It  was  reserved 
to  later  times  to  lift  the  curtain  fully  from  the  world 
of  waters  ;  to  reveal  the  true  magnitude  of  the  globe  ; 
and  to  unite  the  distant  hemispheres  by  ties  such  as 
the  great  discoverer  never  knew. 

It  is  hard  to  imagine  the  darkness  and  the  terror 
which  then  hung  over  the  face  of  the  deep.  The 
ocean  to  the  west  was  a  Mare  Tenebrosum — a  Sea  of 
Darkness,  into  which  the  boldest  voyagers  feared  to 
venture.  Columbus  was  the  most  daring  navigator  of 
his  time.  He  had  made  voyages  to  the  "Western  Isl- 
ands, to  Madeira  and  the  Canaries,  to  Iceland  on  the 
north,  and  to  the  Portuguese  settlements  in  Africa. 
But  when  he  came  to  cross  the  sea,  he  had  to  grope 
his  way  almost  blindly.  But  a  few  rays  of  knowledge 
glimmered,  like  stars,  on  the  pathless  waters.  Hence, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.          11 

when  he  sailed  on  his  voyage  of  discovery,  he  direct- 
ed his  course,  not  west,  but  south.  A  chart,  made  by 
the  eminent  Italian  geographer  Toscanelli,  represented 
the  eastern  coast  of  Asia  as  lying  opposite  to  the  west* 
ern  coast  of  Africa.  Uence  Columbus  first  sailed  along 
the  latter  as  far  as  the  Canary  Islands,  and  thence  bore 
away  for  India  I 

From  this  route  taken  by  the  great  navigator,  he 
crossed  the  ocean  in  its  widest  part.  Had  he,  instead, 
followed  the  track  of  the  Northmen,  who  crept  around 
from  Iceland  to  Greenland  and  Labrador ;  or  had  he 
sailed  straight  to  the  Azores,  and  then  borne  away  to 
the  north-west,  he  would  much  sooner  have  descried 
land  from  the  mast-head.  But  steering  in  darkness,  he 
crossed  the  Atlantic  where  it  is  broadest  and  deepest ; 
where,  as  submarine  explorers  have  since  shown,  it 
rolls  over  mountains,  lofty  as  the  Alps  and  the  Him- 
malehs,  which  lie  buried  beneath  the'  surface  of  the 
deep.  But  farther  north  the  two  continents,  so  widely 
sundered,  incline  toward  each  other,  till  the  bold  head- 
lands of  Newfoundland  stand  over  against  those  of  Ire- 
land, even  as  the  white  chalk  cliffs  of  England  gleam 
across  the  Channel  from  France. 

As  the  island  of  NEWFOUNDLAND  is  to  stand  in  the 
foreground  of  this  history,  it  is  in  place  here  to  speak 
of  its  geographical  position  and  its  importance.  It 
holds  the  same  relation  to  America  that  Ireland  does 


12          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

to  Europe.  Stretching  far  out  into  the  Atlantic,  it  13 
the  vanguard  of  the  western  continent,  or  rather  the 
signal-tower  from  which  the  New  World  may  speak 
to  the  Old. 

Nor  is  it  without  other  claims  to  importance,  which 
ought  to  be  recognized.  In  extent,  it  is  equal  to  Eng- 
land. Is  it  not  surprising  that  an  island  large  enough 
for  a  kingdom,  lying  off  our  own  coast,  should  be  so 
little  known  ?  And  yet  the  reason  is  obvious.  It  lies 
out  of  the  track  of  European  commerce.  Our  ships, 
though  they  skirt  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  pass  a 
few  leagues  to  the  south,  and  get  only  a  distant  glimpse 
of  its  rocky  shores.  Even  what  is  seen  gives  the  coun- 
try rather  an  ill  reputation.  It  has  a  rock-bound 
coast,  around  which  hang  perpetual  fogs  and  mists, 
through  which  great  icebergs,  breaking  from  the 
Northern  Sea,  drift  slowly  down,  like  huge  phantoms 
of  the  deep,  gliding  away  to  be  dissolved  by  the  warm 
breath  of  the  Gulf  Stream.  The  remembrance  of 
these  chilling  fogs  and  threatening  icebergs  makes  the 
voyager  shiver  as  he  recalls  that  dangerous  coast. 

Sailing  west  from  Cape  Kace,  and  making  the  cir- 
cuit of  the  island  as  far  as  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle, 
one  is  often  reminded  of  the  most  northern  peninsula 
of  Europe.  The  rocky  shores  are  indented  with  nu- 
merous bays,  reaching  far  up  into  the  land,  like  the 
fiords  along  the  coast  of  Norway ;  while  the  large 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.         13 

herds  of  Caribou  deer,  that  are  seen  feeding  on  tho 
hills,  might  easily  be  mistaken  for  the  flocks  of  rein- 
deer that  browse  on  the  pastures  and  drink  of  the 
mountain  torrents  of  ancient  Scandinavia. 

The  interior  .of  the  island  is  little  known.  It  is  un 
inhabited  and  almost  unexplored.  It  is  a  boundless 
waste  of  rock  and  moor,  where  vast  forests  stretch  out 
their  unbroken  solitudes,  and  the  wild  bird  utters  its 
lonely  cry.  Bears  and  wolves  roam  on  the  mountains. 
Especially  common  is  the  large  and  fierce  black  wolf; 
while  of  the  smaller  animals,  whose  skins  furnish  ma- 
terial for  the  fur-trade,  such  as  martins  and  foxes, 
there  is  the  greatest  abundance.  But  from  all  pests  of 
the  serpent  tribe,  Newfoundland  is  as  free  as  Ireland, 
which  was  delivered  by  the  prayers  of  St.  Patrick. 
There  is  not  a  snake  or  a  frog  or  a  toad  in  the 
island ! 

Yet,  even  in  this  rugged  ness  of  nature,  there  is  a 
wild  beauty,  which  only  needs  to  be  "clothed  upon" 
by  the  hand  of  man.  Newfoundland,  in  many  of  its 
features,  is  not  unlike  Scotland,  even  in  its  most  deso- 
late portions,  where  vast  fields  of  rock,  covered  with 
thick  moss,  remind  the  emigrant  Soot  of  the  heather 
on  his  native  moors.  In  the  interior  are  lakes  as  long 
as  Loch  Lomond,  and  mountains  as  lofty  as  Ben  Lo- 
mond and  Ben  Nevis.  There  are  passes  as  wild  as 
the  vale  of  Glencoe,  which  make  one  feel  that  he  is  in 


14         HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

the  heart  of  the  Highlands,  while  the  roar  of  the  tor- 
rents yet  more  vividly  recalls  the 

Land  of  the  brown  heath  and  shaggy  wood, 
Land  of  the  mountain  and  the  flood. 

Yet  in  all  this  there  is  nothing  to  repel  human  habit- 
ation. By  the  hand  of  industry,  these  wild  moors 
might  be  transformed  into  fruitful  fields.  We  think 
it  a  very  cold  country,  where  winter  reigns  over  half 
the  year,  as  in  Greenland ;  yet  it  is  not  so  far  north  as 
Scotland,  nor  is  its  climate  more  inhospitable.  It  only 
needs  the  same  population,  the  same  hardy  toil;  and 
the  same  verdure  would  creep  up  its  hill-sides,  which 
now  makes  green  and  beautiful  the  loneliest  of  Scottish 
glens. 

But  at  present  the  country  is  a  terra  incognita.  In 
the  interior,  there  are  no  towns,  and  no  roads.  As 
yet,  almost  the  whole  wealth  of  the  island  is  drawn 
from  the  sea.  Its  chief  trade  is  its  fisheries,  and  the 
only  places  of  importance  are  a  few  small  towns, 
chiefly  on  the  eastern  side,  which  have  grown  up 
around  the  trading  posts.  Besides  these,  the  only  set- 
tlements are  the  fishermen's  huts  scattered  along  the 
coast.  Hence  the  bishop  of  the  island,  when  he 
would  make  his  annual  visit  to  his  scattered  flock,  is 
obliged  to  sail  around  his  diocese  in  his  private  yacht, 
since  even  on  horseback  it  would  not  be  possible  to 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          15 

make  his  way  through  the  dense  forests  to  the  remote 
parts  of  the  island.  Indeed,  it  was  this  circumstance 
that  first  suggested  the  idea  of  cutting  across  the  island 
a  nearer  way,  not  only  for  the  people  themselves,  but 
for  communication  between  Europe  and  America. 

It  was  in  one  of  these  excursions  around  the  coast 
that  the  good  Bishop  Mullock,  the  head  of  the  Eoman 
Catholic  Church  in  Newfoundland,  when  visiting  the 
western  portion  of  his  diocese,  lying  one  day  becalmed 
in  his  yacht,  in  sight  of  Cape  North,  the  extreme  point 
of  the  province  of  Cape  Breton,  bethought  himself 
how  his  poor  neglected  island  might  be  benefited  by 
being  taken  into  the  track  of  communication  between 
Europe  and  America.  He  saw  how  nature  had  pro- 
vided an  easy  approach  to  the  mainland  on  the  west. 
About  sixty  miles  from  Cape  Ray  stretched  the  long 
island  of  Cape  Breton,  while,  as  a  stepping-stone,  the 
little  island  of  St.  Paul's  lay  between.  So  much  did 
it  weigh  upon  his  mind  that,  as  soon  as  he  got  back  to 
St.  John's,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  one  of  the  papers  on 
the  subject.  As  this  is  the  first  suggestion  that  I  have 
found  of  a  telegraph  across  Newfoundland,  I  here  give 
his  letter  in  full : 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Courier : 

SIR  :  I  regret  to  find  that,  in  every  plan  for  trans- 
atlantic communication,  Halifax  is  always  mentioned, 


16         HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

and  the  natural  capabilities  of  Newfoundland  entirely 
overlooked.  This  has  been  deeply  impressed  on  my 
mind  by  the  communication  I  read  in  your  paper  of 
Saturday  last,  regarding  telegraphic  communication 
between  England  and  Ireland,  in  which  it  is  said  that 
the  nearest  telegraphic  station  on  the  American  side  is 
Halifax,  twenty-one  hundred  and  fifty-five  miles  from 
the  west  of  Ireland.  Now  would  it  not  be  well  to 
call  the  attention  of  England  and  America  to  the  ex- 
traordinary capabilities  of  St.  John's,  as  the  nearest 
telegraphic  point?  It  is  an  Atlantic  port,  lying,  I 
may  say,  in  the  track  of  the  ocean  steamers,  and  by 
establishing  it  as  the  American  telegraphic  station, 
news  could  be  communicated  to  the  whole  American 
continent  forty-eight  hours,  at  least^  sooner  than  by 
any  other  route.  But  how  will  this  be  accomplished  ? 
Just  look  at  the  map  of  Newfoundland  and  Cape  Bre- 
ton. From  St.  John's  to  Cape  Eay  there  is  no  diffi- 
culty in  establishing  a  line  passing  near  Holy-Rood 
along  the  neck  of  land  connecting  Trinity  and  Placen- 
tia  Bays,  and  thence  in  a  direction  due  west  to  the 
Cape.  You  have  then  about  forty-one  to  forty-five 
miles  of  sea  to  St.  Paul's  Island,  with  deep  soundings 
of  one  hundred  fathoms,  so  that  the  electric  cable  will 
be  perfectly  safe  from  icebergs.  Thence  to  Cape  North, 
in  Cape  Breton,  is  little  more  than  twelve  miles.  Thus 
it  is  not  only  practicable  to  bring  America  two  days 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          17 

nearer  to  Europe  by  this  route,  but  should  the  tele- 
graphic communication  between  England  and  Ireland, 
sixty-two  miles,  be  realized,  it  presents  not  the  least 
difficulty.  Of  course,  we  in  Newfoundland  will  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  erection,  working,  and  main- 
tenance of  the  telegraph  ;  but  I  suppose  our  Govern- 
ment will  give  every  facility  to  the  company,  either 
English  or  American,  who  will  undertake  it,  as  it  will 
be  an  incalculable  advantage  to  this  country.  I  hope 
the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  St.  John's  will  be  the 
first  link  in  the  electric  chain  which  will  unite  the  Old 
World  and  the  New.  J.  T.  M. 

ST.  JOHN'S,  November  8,  1850. 

This  suggestion  proved  to  be  seed  sown  on  good 
ground,  since  out  of  it  in  a  great  measure  sprang  the 
first  attempt  to  link  the  Island  of  Newfoundland  with 
the  mainland  of  America.  For  about'  the  same  time, 
the  attention  of  Mr.  Frederick  N.  Gisborne,  a  tele- 
graph operator,  was  attracted  to  a  similar  project. 
Being  a  man  of  great  quickness  of  mind,  he  instantly 
saw  the  importance  of  such  a  work,  and  took  hold  of 
it  with  enthusiasm.  It  might  easily  occur  to  him 
without  suggestion  from  any  source.  He  had  had 
much  experience  in  telegraphs,  and  was  then  en- 
gaged in  constructing  a  telegraph  line  in  Nova-Scotia. 
Whether,  therefore,  the  idea  was  first  with  him  or  with 


18  HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH. 

the  bishop,  is  of  little  consequence.  It  might  occur  at 
the  same  time  to  two  intelligent  minds,  studying  the 
public  good,  and  be  alike  honorable  to  both. 

But  having  taken  hold  of  this  idea,  Mr.  Gisborne 
pursued  it  with  indomitable  resolution.  As  the  la- 
bors of  this  gentleman  were  most  important  in  the 
beginning  of  this  work,  I  am  happy  to  bear  the  fullest 
testimony  to  his  zeal  and  energy.  For  this  purpose,  I 
quote  from  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  E.  M.  Archibald, 
now  British  Consul  at  New- York,  and  formerly  At- 
torney-General of  Newfoundland : 

"It  was  during  the  winter  of  1849-50,  that  Mr. 
Gisborne,  who  had  been,  as  an  engineer,  engaged  in 
extending  the  electric  telegraph  through  Lower  Can- 
ada and  New-Brunswick  to  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  con- 
ceived the  project  of  a  telegraph  to  connect  St.  John's, 
the  most  easterly  port  of  America,  with  the  main  con- 
tinent. The  importance  of  the  geographical  position 
of  Newfoundland,  in  the  event  of  a  telegraph  ever  be- 
ing carried  across  the  Atlantic,  was  about  the  same 
time  promulgated  by  Dr.  Mullock,  the  Eoman  Catho- 
lic Bishop  of  Newfoundland,  in  a  St.  John's  news- 
paper. 

"  In  the  spring  of  the  following  year,  (1851,)  Mr. 
Gisborne  visited  Newfoundland,  appeared  before  the 
Legislature,  then  in  session,  and  explained  the  details 
of  his  plan,  which  was  an  overland  line  from  St.  John's 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          19 

to  Cape  Kay,  nearly  four  hundred  miles  in  length, 
and  (the  submarine  cable  between  Dover  and  Calais 
not  having  then  been  laid)  a  communication  between 
Cape  Ray  and  Cape  Breton  by  steamer  and  carrier- 
pigeons,  eventually,  it  was  hoped,  by  a  submarine  cable 
across  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  The  Legislature  en- 
couraged the  project,  granted  £500  sterling  to  enable 
Mr.  Gisborne  to  make  an  exploratory  survey  of  the  pro- 
posed line  to  Cape  Eay,  and  passed  an  act  authorizing 
its  construction,  with  certain  privileges,  and  the  ap- 
pointment of  commissioners  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
it  out.  Upon  this,  Mr.  Gisborne,  who  was  then  the 
chief  officer  of  the  Nova  Scotia  Telegraph  Company, 
returned  to  that  province,  resigned  his  situation,  and 
devoted  himself  to  the  project  of  the  Newfoundland 
telegraph.  Having  organized  a  local  company  for  the 
purpose  of  constructing  the  first  telegraph  line  in  the 
island,  from  St.  John's  to  Carbonear,  a  distance  of  sixty 
miles,  he,  on  the  fourth  of  September,  set  out  upon 
the  arduous  expedition  of  a  survey  of  the  proposed 
line  to  Cape  Kay,  which  occupied  upward  of  three 
months,  during  which  time  himself  and  his  party  suf- 
fered severe  privations,  and  narrowly  escaped  starva- 
tion, having  to  traverse  the  most  rugged  and  hitherto 
unexplored  part  of  the  island.*  On  his  return,  hav- 

*  "  On  the  fourth  day  of  December,  I  accomplished  the  survey  through 
three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  wood  and  wilderness.    It  was  an  ar- 


20          HISTOEY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ing  reported  to  the  Legislature  favorably  of  the  project, 
and  furnished  estimates  of  the  cost,  he  determined  to 
proceed  to  New- York,  to  obtain  assistance  to  carry  it 
out.  .  .  .  Mr.  Grisborne  returned  to  St.  John's  in 
the  spring  of  1852,  when,  at  his  instance,  an  act,  in- 
corporating himself  (his  being  the  only  name  mention- 
ed in  it)  and  such  others  as  might  become  shareholders 
in  a  company,  to  be  called  the  Newfoundland  Electric 
Telegraph  Company,  was  passed,  granting  an  exclusive 
right  to  erect  telegraphs  in  Newfoundland  for  thirty 
years,  with  certain  concessions  of  land,  by  way  of  en- 
couragement, to  be  granted  upon  the  completion  of  the 
telegraph  from  St.  John's  to  Gape  Kay.  Mr.  Gisborne 
then  returned  to  New- York,  where  he  organized,  under 
this  charter,  a  company,  of  which  Mr.  Tebbets  and  Mr. 
Holbrook*  were  prominent  members,  made  his  finan- 
cial arrangements  with  them,  and  proceeded  to  Eng- 
land to  contract  for  the  cable  from  Cape  Kay  to  Prince 
Edward  Island,  and  from  thence  to  the  mainland.  Ke- 
turning  in  the  autumn,  he  proceeded  in  a  small  steam- 
er, in  the  month  of  November  of  that  year,  1852,  to 
stretch  the  first  submarine  cable,  of  any  length,  in 

duous  undertaking.     My  original  party,  consisting  of  six  white  men, 
were  exchanged  for  four  Indians  ;  of  the  latter  party,  t\vo  deserted,  one 
died  a  few  days  after  my  return,  and  the  other,  *  Joe  Paul,'  has  ever 
§ince  proclaimed  himself  an  ailing  man." — Letter  of  Mr.  Gisborjie. 
*  Horace  B.  Tebbets  and  Darius  B.  Holbrook. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.         21 

America,  across  the  Northumberland  Strait  from  Prince 
Edward  Island  to  New-Brunswick,  which  cable,  how- 
ever, was  shortly  afterward  broken,  and  a  new  one  was 
subsequently  laid  down  by  the  New-York,  Newfound- 
land, and  London  Telegraph  Company.  In  the  spring 
of  the  following  year,  1853,  Mr.  Gisborne  set  vigor- 
ously to  work  to  complete  his  favorite  project  of  the 
line  (which  he  intended  should  be  chiefly  underground) 
from  St.  John's  to  Gape  Kay.  He  had  constructed 
some  thirty  or  forty  miles  of  road,  and  was  proceeding 
with  every  prospect  of  success,  when,  most  unexpect- 
edly, those  of  the  company  who  were  to  furnish  the 
needful  funds  dishonored  his  bills,  and  brought  his 
operations  to  a  sudden  termination.  He  and  the  cred- 
itors of  the  company  were  for  several  months  buoyed 
up  with  promises  of  forthcoming  means  from  his  New- 
York  allies,  which  promises  were  finally  entirely  un- 
fulfilled ;  and  Gisborne,  being  the  only  ostensible  party, 
was  sued  and  prosecuted  on  all  sides,  stripped  of  his 
whole  property,  and  himself  arrested  to  answer  the 
claims  of  the  creditors  of  the  company.  He  cheerfully 
and  honorably  gave  up  every  thing  he  possessed,  and 
did  his  utmost  to  relieve  the  severe  distress  in  which 
the  poor  laborers  on  the  line  had  been  involved." 

This  is  a  testimony  most  honorable  to  the  engineer 
who  first  led  the  way  through  a  pathless  wilderness 
But  this  Newfoundland  scheme  is  not  to  be  confound 


22          HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ed  with  that  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph,  which  did  not 
come  into  existence  until  a  year  or  two  later.  The 
latter  was  not  at  all  included  in  the  former.  In 
deed,  Mr.  Gisborne  himself  says,  in  a  letter  refer- 
ring to  his  original  project:  "My  plans  were  to  run 
a  subterranean  line  from  Cape  Eace  to  Cape  Bay, 
fly  carrier-pigeons  and  run  boats  across  the  Straits  of 
Northumberland  to  Cape  Breton,  and  thence  by  over- 
land lines  convey  the  news  to  New- York."  Though 
he  adds  :  "  Meanwhile  Mr.  Brett's  experimental  cable 
between  Dover  and  Calais  having  proved  successful, 
I  set  forth  in  my  report,  [which  appeared  a  year  after 
his  first  proposal,]  that  '  carrier-pigeons  and  boats 
would  be  required  only  until  such  time  as  the  ex- 
periments then  making  in  England  with  submarine 
cables  should  warrant  a  similar  attempt  between  Cape 
Eay  and  Cape  Breton.'  "  But  nowhere  in  his  report 
does  he  allude  to  the  possibility  of  ever  thus  spanning 
the  mighty  gulf  of  the  Atlantic. 

But  several  years  after,  when  the  temporary  success 
of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  gave  a  name  to  every  body 
connected  with  it,  he  or  his  friends  seemed  not  un- 
willing to  have  it  supposed  that  this  was  embraced 
in  the  original  scheme.  "When  asked  why  he  did  not 
publish  his  grand  idea  to  the  world,  he  answers  :  "  Be- 
cause I  was  looked  upon  as  a  wild  visionary  by  my 
friends,  and  pronounced  a  fool  by  my  relatives  for  re- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          23 

signing  a  lucrative  government  appointment  in  favor 
of  such  a  laborious  speculation  as  the  Newfoundland 
connection.  Now  had  I  coupled  it  at  that  time  with 
an  Atlantic  line,  all  confidence  in  the  prior  undertak- 
ing would  have  been  destroyed,  and  my  object  defeat- 
ed." This  may  have  been  a  reason  for  not  announcing 
such  a  project  to  the  public,  but  certainly  it  was  not  a 
reason  foi  not  imparting  the  secret  confidentially  to  his 
friends.  A  man  can  hardly  lay  claim  to  that  which  he 
holds  in  such  absolute  reserve. 

However,  whether  he  ever  entertained  the  idea  of 
such  a  project,  is  not  a  matter  of  the  slightest  conse- 
quence to  the  public,  nor  even  to  his  own  reputation. 
Probably  hundreds  had  a  vague  notion  that  such  a 
thing  might  come  to  pass  at  some  future  day,  just  as 
many  believe  that  flying-machines  will  yet  navigate 
the  air.  Ten  years  before,  Professor  Morse  had  express- 
ed, not  a  dreamer's  fancy,  but  a  deliberate  conviction, 
founded  on  scientific  experiments,  that  "  a  telegraphic 
communication  might  with  certainty  be  established 
across  the  Atlantic  Ocean ;"  so  that  the  idea  was  not 
original  with  Mr.  Gisborne,  nor  with  others  who  have 
seemed  anxious  to  claim  its  paternity. 

It  is  a  curious  part  of  the  history  of  great  enter- 
prises, that  the  moment  one  succeeds,  a  host  spring  up 
to  claim  the  honor.  Thus  when,  in  1858,  the  Atlantic 
Telegraph  seemed  to  be  a  success,  the  public,  knowing 


24         HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

well  who  had  borne  the  brunt  and  burden  of  the  un- 
dertaking, awarded  him  the  praise  which  he  so  well 
deserved ;  but  instantly  there  were  other  Kichmonds 
in  the  field.  Those  who  had  had  no  part  in  the  labor, 
at  least  claimed  to  have  originated  the  idea!  Of 
course,  these  many  claims  destroy  each  other.  But 
after  all,  to  raise  such  a  point  at  all  is. the  merest  trifling. 
The  question  is  not  who  first  had  the  "  idea,"  but  who 
took  hold  of  the  enterprise  as  a  practical  thing ;  who 
grappled  with  the  gigantic  difficulties  of  the  under- 
taking, and  fought  the  battle  through  to  victory? 

As  to  Mr.  Gisborne,  his  activity  in  the  beginning  of 
the  Newfoundland  telegraph  is  a  matter  of  history.  In 
that  preliminary  work,  he  bore  an  honorable  part,  and 
acquired  a  title  to  respect,  of  which  he  cannot  be  de- 
prived. All  honor  to  him  for  his  enterprise,  his  cour- 
age, and  his  perseverance  I 

But  for  the  company  of  which  he  was  the  father, 
which  he  had  got  up  with  so  much  toil,  it  lived  but  a 
few  months,  when  it  became  involved  in  debt  some 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  chiefly  to  laborers  on  the  line, 
and  ended  its  existence  by  an  ignominious  failure. 
The  concern  was -bankrupt,  and  it  was  plain  that,  if 
the  work  was  not  to  be  finally  abandoned,  it  must  be 
taken  up  by  stronger  hands. 


CHAPTER   H. 

MR.    GlSBORXE    COMES    TO    NEW-YORK.       Is    INTRODUCED    TO   CYRUS   \F. 

FIELD,  WHO  CONCEIVES  THE  IDEA  OF  A  TELEGRAPH  ACROSS  THE  ATLAN- 
TIC OCEAN.  Is  IT  PRACTICABLE  ?  Two  ELEMENTS  TO  BE  MASTERED, 

THE   SEA   AND   THE   LIGHTNING.      INQUIRIES  ADDRESSED  TO  LIEUTENANT 

MAURT  AND  PROFESSOR  MORSE.  ANSWER  OF  LIEUTENANT  MAURY. 
VISIT  OF  PROFESSOR  MORSE.  MR.  FIELD  DETERMINES  TO  EMBARK 
IN  THE  UNDERTAKING. 

ME.  GISBOKNE  left  Halifax  anJ  came  to  New- York 
in  January,  1854.  Here  lie  took  counsel  with  his 
friend  Tebbets  and  others  ;  but  thejr  could  give 
him  no  relief.  It  was  while  in  this  state  of  suspense 
that  he  met,  at  the  Astor  House,  Mr.  Matthew  D. 
Field,  an  engineer  who  had  been  engaged  in  build- 
ing railroads  and  suspension-bridges  at  the  South  aud 
West.  Mr.  Field  listened  to  his  story  with  interest, 
and  engaged  to  speak  of  it  to  his  brother,  Cyrus  W. 
Field,  a  merchant  of  New- York,  who  had  retired  from 
business  the  year  before,  and  had  spent  six  months  in 
travelling  over  the  mountains  of  South- America,  from 
which  he  had  lately  returned.  Accordingly,  he  intro- 


26          HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

duced  the  subject,  but  found  liis  brother  disinclined 
to  embark  in  any  new  undertaking.  Though  still  a 
young  man,  his  life  had  been  for  many  years  one  01 
incessant  devotion  to  business.  He  had  accumulated 
an  ample  fortune,  and  was  not  disposed  to  renew  the 
cares,  the  anxieties,  and  the  fatigues  of  his  former  Iif3. 
But  listening  to  the  details  of  a  scheme  which  had  in 
it  much  to  excite  interest,  and  which  by  its  very  diffi- 
culty stimulated  the  spirit  of  enterprise,  he  at  length 
consented  to  see  Mr.  Gisborne,  and  sent  to  invite  him 
to  his  house.  Accordingly  he  came,  and  spent  an 
evening  describing  the  route  of  his  proposed  telegraph, 
and  the  points  it  was  to  connect.  After  he  left, 
Mr.  Field  took  the  globe  which  was  standing  in  the 
library,  and  began  to  turn  it  over.  It  was  while  thus 
studying  the  globe  that  the  idea  first  occurred  to  him, 
that  the  telegraph  might  bs  carried  further  still,  and 
be  made  to  span  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  This  idea,  as 
will  soon  appear,  was  not  original  with  Mr.  Field, 
though  he  was  to  be  the  instrument,  in  the  hands  of 
Providence,  to  carry  it  out.  It  was  indeed  a  new  idea 
to  him;  but  it  had  long  been  a  matter  of  speculation 
with  scientific  minds,  though  their  theories  had  never 
attracted  his  attention.  But  once  he  had  grasped 
the  idea,  it  took  strong  hold  of  his  imagination,  and 
led  him  to  entertain  the  Newfoundland  scheme,  as  pre- 
liminary to  the  other.  Had  the  former  stood  alone, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.         27 

he  would  never  have  undertaken  it.  He  cared  little 
about  shortening  communication  with  Europe  mere- 
ly by  a  day  or  two,  by  relays  of  boats  and  carrier- 
pigeons  !  But  it  was  the  hope  of  further  and  grander 
results  that  inspired  him,  and  gave  him  courage  to 
enter  on  a  work  of  which  no  man  could  foresee  the 
end. 

But  so  vast  an  enterprise  was  not  to  be  rashly  under- 
taken. There  were  scientific  problems  involved,  which 
could  only  be  solved  by  scientific  men,  and  perhaps 
not  even  by  them;  which,  it  might  be,  could  only  be 
answered  by  the  final  test  of  experiment.  Before 
giving  any  definite  reply  to  Gisborne,  Mr.  Field  de- 
termined to  apply  to  the  highest  authorities  this  side 
the  Atlantic.  The  project  of  an  Atlantic  Telegraph  in- 
volved two  problems  :  Could  a  cable  be  stretched  across 
the  ocean  ?  and  if  it  were,  would  it  be  good  for  any 
thing  to  convey  messages  ?  The  first  was  a  question 
of  mechanical  difficulties,  requiring  a  careful  survey  of 
the  ocean  itself,  fathoming  its  depth,  finding  out  the 
character  of  its  bottom,  whether  level,  or  rough  and 
volcanic ;  and  all  the  obstacles  that  might  be  found  in 
the  winds  that  agitate  the  surface  above,  or  the  mighty 
currents  that  sweep  through  the  waters  below.  The 
second  problem  was  one  less  mechanical,  but  more 
purely  scientific,  involving  questions  as  to  the  laws  of 
electricity,  not  then  fully  understood,  and  on  which 


28         HISTORY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

the  boldest  might  feel  that  he  was  venturing  on.  uncer- 
tain ground. 

Such  were  the  two  elements  or  forces  of  nature  to 
be  encountered — the  ocean  and  the  lightning.  Could 
they  be  controlled  by  any  power  of  man  ?  The  very 
proposal  was  enough  to  stagger  the  faith  even  of  an 
enthusiast.  Who  could  lay  a  bridle  on  the  neck  of  the 
wild  sea  ?  The  attempt  seemed  as  idle,  if  not  as  im- 
pious, as  that  of  Xerxes  to  bind  it  with  chains.  Was 
it  possible  to  combat  the  fierceness  of  the  winds  and 
waves,  and  to  stretch  one  long  line  from  continent  to 
continent  ?  And  then,  after  the  work  was  achieved, 
would  the  lightning  run  along  the  ocean-bed  from  shore 
to  shore  ?  Such  were  the  questions  which  have  puz- 
zled many  an  anxious  brain,  and  which  now  troubled 
the  one  who  was  to  undertake  the  work. 

To  get  some  light  in  his  perplexity,  Mr.  Field,  the 
very  next  morning  after  his  interview  with  Gisborne, 
wrote  two  letters,  one  to  Lieutenant  Maury,  then  at 
the  head  of  the  National  Observatory  at  Washington, 
on  the  nautical  difficulties  of  the  undertaking,  asking 
if  the  sea  were  itself  a  barrier  too  great  to  be  overcome; 
and  the  other  to  Professor  Morse,  inquiring  if  it  would 
be  possible  to  telegraph  over  a  distance  so  great  a3 
that  from  Europe  to  America  ? 

The  mail  soon  brought  an  answer  from  Lieutenant 
Maury,  which  began :  "  Singularly  enough,  just  as 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.         29 

I  received  your  letter,  I  was  closing  one  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  on  the  same  subject."  A  copy  of 
this  he  inclosed  to  Mr.  Field,  as  giving  his  matured 
opinion.  It  has  since  been  published.  We  give  the 
greater  part  of  it,  to  show  the  conclusions  to  which, 
even  at  that  early  day,  scientific  men  were  beginning 
to  arrive : 

"  NATIONAL  OBSERVATORY,  i 
WASHINGTON,   February  22,  1854.  ) 

"SlR:  The  United  States  brig  Dolphin,  Lieutenant 
Commanding  0.  II.  Berryman,  was  employed  last  sum- 
mer upon  especial  service  connected  with  the  researches 
that  are  carried  on  at  this  office  concerning  the  winds 
and  currents  of  the  sea.  Her  observations  were  con- 
fined principally  to  that  part  of  the  ocean  which  the 
merchantmen,  as  they  pass  to  and  fro  upon  the  busi- 
ness of  trade  between  Europe  and  the  United  States, 
use  as  their  great  thoroughfare.  Lieutenant  Berryman 
availed  himself  of  this  opportunity  to  carry  along  also  a 
line  of  deep-sea  soundings,  from  the  shores  of  New- 
foundland to  those  of  Ireland.  The  result  is  highly 
interesting,  in  so  far  as  the  bottom  of  the  sea  is  con- 
cerned, upon  the  question  of  a  submarine  telegraph 
across  the  Atlantic ;  and  I  therefore  beg  leave  to  make 
it  the  subject  of  a  special  report. 

"  This  line  of  deep-sea  soundings  seems  to  be  deci- 
sive of  the  question  as  to  the  practicability  of  a  subma- 


30         HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

rine  telegraph  between  the  two  continents,  in  so  far  an 
the  bottom  of  the  deep  sea  is  concerned.  From  Newfound- 
land to  Ireland,  the  distance  between  the  nearest  points 
is  about  sixteen  hundred  miles  ;*  and  the  bottom  or 
the  sea  between  the  two  places  is  a  plateau,  which 
seems  to  have  been  placed  there  especially  for  the  pur- 
pose of  holding  the  wires  of  a  submarine  telegraph, 
and  of  keeping  them  out  of  harm's  way.  It  is  neither 
too  deep  nor  too  shallow ;  yet  it  is  so  deep  that  the 
wires  but  once  landed,  will  remain  for  ever  beyond  the 
reach  of  vessels'  anchors,  icebergs,  and  drifts  of  any 
kind,  and  so  shallow,  that  the  wires  may  be  readily 
lodged  upon  the  bottom.  The  depth  of  this  plateau  is 
quite  regular,  gradually  increasing  from  the  shores  of 
Newfoundland  to  the  depth  of  from  fifteen  hundred  to 
two  thousand  fathoms,  as  you  approach  the  other  side. 
The  distance  between  Ireland  and  Cape  St.  Charles,  or 
Cape  St.  Lewis,  in  Labrador,  is  somewhat  less  than 
the  distance  from  any  point  of  Ireland  to  the  nearest 
point  of  Newfoundland.  But  whether  it  would  be 
better  to  lead  the  wires  from  Newfoundland  or  Labra- 
dor is  not  now  the  question  ;  nor  do  I  pretend  to  con- 
sider the  question  as  to  the  possibility  of  finding  a  time 

*  From  Cape  Freels,  Newfoundland,  to  Erris  Head,  Ireland,  the  dis 
tance  is  sixteen  hundred  and  eleven  miles ;  from  Cape  Charles,  or  Cape 
St.  Lewis,  Labrador,  to  ditto,  the  distance  is  sixteen  hundred  and  one 
miles. 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          31 

calm  enough,  the  sea  smooth  enough,  a  wire  long  enough, 
a  ship  big  enough,  to  lay  a  coil  of  wire  sixteen  hundred 
miles  in  length ;  though  I  have  no  fear  but  that  the 
enterprise  and  ingenuity  of  the  age,  whenever  called 
on  with  these  problems,  will  be  ready  with  a  satisfac- 
tory and  practical  solution  of  them. 

"  I  simply  address  myself  at  this  time  to  the  ques- 
tion in  so  far  as  the  bottom  of  the  sea  is  concerned,  and 
as  far  as  that,  the  greatest  practical  difficulties  will,  I 
apprehend,  be  found  after  reaching  soundings  at  either 
end  of  the  line,  and  not  in  the  deep  sea.  .  .  . 

"  A  wire  laid  across  from  either  of  the  above-named 
places  on  this  side  will  pass  to  the  north  of  the  Grand 
Banks,  and  rest  on  that  beautiful  plateau  to  which  I 
have  alluded,  and  where  the  waters  of  the  sea  appear 
to  be  as  quiet  and  as  completely  at  rest  as  it  is  at  the 
bottom  of  a  mill-pond.  It  is  proper  that  the  reasons 
should  be  stated  for  the  inference  that  there  are  no 
perceptible  currents,  and  no  abrading  agents  at  work 
at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  upon  this  telegraphic  plateau. 
I  derive  this  inference  from  a  study  of  a  physical  fact, 
which  I  little  deemed,  when  I  sought  ii,  had  any  such 
bearings. 

"  Lieutenant  Berryman  brought  up  with  Brooke' 
deep-sea  sounding  apparatus  specimens  of  the  bottom 
from  this  plateau.     I  sent  them  to  Professor  Bailey,  of 
West-Point,  for  examination  under   his   microscope. 


32         HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

This  he  kindly  gave,  and  that  eminent  microscopist 
was  quite  as  much  surprised  to  find,  as  I  was  to  learn, 
that  all  those  specimens  of  deep-sea  soundings  are  filled 
with  microscopic  shells  ;  to  use  his  own  words,  '  not  a 
particle  of  sand  or  gravel  exists  in  them.1  These  little 
shells,  therefore,  suggest  the  fact  that  there  are  no  cur- 
rents at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  whence  they  came  ;  that 
Brooke's  lead  found  them  where  they  were  deposited 
in  their  burial-place  after  having  lived  and  died  on  the 
surface,  and  by  gradually  sinking  were  lodged  on  the 
bottom.  Had  there  been  currents  at  the  bottom,  these 
would  have  swept  and  abraded  and  mingled  up  witli 
these  microscopic  remains  the  debris  of  the  bottom  of 
the  sea,  such  as  ooze,  sand,  gravel,  and  other  matter ; 
but  not  a  particle  of  sand  or  gravel  was  found  among 
them.  Hence  the  inference  that  these  depths  of  the 
sea  are  not  disturbed  either  by  waves  or  currents. 
Consequently,  a  telegraphic  wire  once  laid  there,  there 
it  would  remain,  as  completely  beyond  the  reach  of 
accident  as  it  would  be  if  buried  in  air-tight  cases. 
Therefore,  so  far  as  the  bottom  of  the  deep  sea  between 
Newfoundland,  or  the  North  Cape,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  Ireland,  is  concerned,  the  prac- 
ticability of  a  submarine  telegraph  across  the  Atlantic 
is  proved.  .  .  . 

"  In  this  view  of  the  subject,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
hastening  the  completion  of  such  a  line,  I  take  the  lib- 
2* 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          33 

erty  of  suggesting  for  your  consideration  the  propriety 
of  an  offer  from  the  proper  source,  of  a  prize  to  the 
company  through  whose  telegraphic  wire  the  first  mes- 
sage shall  be  passed  across  the  Atlantic. 
"I  have  the  honor  to  be,  respectfully, -etc., 

"M.  F.  MAURY, 
"  Lieutenant  United  States  Navy. 
"  Hon.  J.  C.  DOBBIN,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

The  reply  of  Professor  Morse  showed  equal  interest 
in  the  subject,  in  proof  of  which  he  wrote  that  he 
would  come  down  to  New-York  to  see  Mr.  Field  about 
it.  A  few  days  after,  he  came,  and  saw  Mr.  Field  at 
his  house.  This  was  the  beginning  of  an  acquaintance 
which  soon  ripened  into  friendship,  and  which  hence- 
forth united  these  gentlemen  together  in  this  great 
achievement.  Professor  Morse,  in  conversation,  enter- 
ed at  length  into  the  laws  of  electricity  as  applied  to 
the  business  of  telegraphing,  and  concluded  by  declar- 
ing his  entire  faith  in  the  undertaking  as  a  practicable 
thing ;  as  one  that  might,  could,  and  would  be  achiev- 
ed. Indeed,  this  faith  lie  had  avowed  years  before. 
In  a  letter  written  as  early  as  August  tenth,  1843,  to 
John  C.  Spencer,  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Pro- 
fessor Morse  had  detailed  the  results  of  certain  experi- 
ments made  in  the  harbor  of  New- York  to  show  the 
power  of  electricity  to  communicate  at  great  distances, 
at  the  close  of  which,  he  says-  -in  words  that  now  seem 


34         HISTORY  OF  TI1E   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

prophetic  :  "  The  practical  inference  from  this  law  is, 
that  a  ttlegraphic  communication  on  the  electro-magnetic 
plan  may  with  certainty  be  established  across  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  !  Startling  as  this  may  now  seem,  I  am  confident 
the  time  will  come  when  this  project  will  be  realized" 

It  was  the  good  fortune  of  Mr.  Field — at  that  time 
and  ever  since — to  have  at  hand  an  adviser  in  whose 
judgment  he  had  implicit  confidence.  This  was  his 
eldest  brother,  David  Dudley  Field.  They  lived  side 
by  side  on  Gramercy  Park,  and  were  in  daily  com- 
munication. To  the  prudent  counsels,  wise  judgment, 
and  unfaltering  courage  of  the  elder  brother,  the  At- 
lantic Telegraph  is  more  indebted  than  the  world  will 
ever  know,  for  its  first  impulse  and  for  the  spirit  which 
sustained  it  through,  long  years  of  discouragement  and 
disaster,  when  its  friends  were  few.  To  this,  his  near- 
est and  best  counsellor,  Mr.  Field  opened  the  project 
which  had  taken  possession  of  his  mind ;  and  being 
strengthened  by  that  maturer  judgment,  he  finally  re- 
solved that,  if  he  could  get  a  sufficient  number  of  cap- 
italists to  join  him,  he  would  embark  in  an  enterprise 
which,  beginning  with  the  line  to  Newfoundland,  in- 
volved in  the  end  nothing  less  than  an  attempt  to  link 
this  New  World  which  Columbus  had  discovered,  to 
that  Old  World  which  had  been  for  ages  the  home  of 
empire  and  of  civilization.  How  the  scheme  advanced 
through  the  next  twelve  years,  it  will  be  our  province 
to  relate. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EFFORTS  TO  ENGAGE  CAPITALISTS  IN  THE  ENTERPRISE.  PETER  COOPER, 
MOSES  TAYLOR,  MARSHALL  0.  ROBERTS,  AND  CHANDLER  WHITE.  COM- 
MISSION SENT  TO  NEWFOUNDLAND.  THEY  OBTAIN  A  NEW  CHARTER 
FOR  THE  NEW-YORK,  NEWFOUNDLAND,  AND  LONDON  TELEGRAPH  COM- 
PANY. RETURN  TO  NEW- YORK.  THE  CHARTER  is  ACCEPTED,  THB 
COMPANY  ORGANIZED,  AND  THE  CAPITAL  RAISED. 

AND  so  the  young  New- York  merchant  set  out  to 
carry  a  telegraph  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean  I  The  de- 
sign had  in  it  at  least  the  merit  of  audacity.  But 
whether  the  end  was  to  be  sublime  or  ridiculous  time 
alone  could  tell.  Certain  it  is  that  when  his  sanguine 
temper  and  youthful  blood  stirred  him  oip  to  take  hold 
of  such  an  enterprise,  he  little  dreamed  of  what  it 
would  involve.  He  thought  lightly  of  a  few  thousands 
risked  in  an  uncertain  venture ;  but  never  imagined 
that  he  might  yet  be  drawn  on  to  stake  upon  its  suc- 
cess the  whole  fortune  he  had  accumulated ;  that  he 
was  to  sacrifice  all  the  peace  and  quiet  he  had  hoped 
to  enjoy;  and  that  for  twelve  years  he  was  to  b* 
almost  without  a  home,  crossing  and  re-crossing  the 
sea,  urging  his  enterprise  in  Europe  and  America. 
But  so  it  is,  that  the  Being  who  designs  great  things 


36          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

for  human  welfare,  and  would  accomplish  them  b} 
human  instruments,  does  not  lift  at  once  the  curtain 
from  the  stern  realities  they  are  to  meet,  nor  reveal 
the  rugged  ascents  they  are  to  climb;  so  that  it  is  only 
when  at  last  the  heights  are  attained,  and  they  look 
backward,  that  they  realize  through  what  they  have 
passed. 

But  could  he  find  any  body  to  join  him  in  his  bold 
undertaking  ?  Starving  adventurers  there  always  are, 
ready  to  embark  in  any  Quixotic  attempt,  since  they 
have  nothing  to  lose.  But  would  men  of  sense  and 
of  character ;  men  who  had  fortunes  to  keep,  and  the 
habit  which  business  gives  of  looking  calmly  and  sus- 
piciously at  probabilities ;  be  found  to  put  capital  in 
an  enterprise  where,  if  it  failed,  they  would  find  their 
money  literally  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  ?  It  seemed 
doubtful,  but  he  would  try.  His  plan  was,  if  possible, 
to  enlist  ten  capitalists,  all  gentlemen  of  wealth,  who 
together  could  lift  a  pretty  heavy  load ;  who,  if  need 
were,  could  easily  raise  a  million  of  dollars,  to  carry 
out  any  undertaking. 

The  first  man  whom  he  addressed  was  Mr.  Peter 
Cooper,  who  was  then  and  is  still  his  next-door 
neighbor.  Here  he  found  the  indisposition  which 
a  man  of  large  fortune — now  well  advanced  in  life — 
would  naturally  feel  to  embark  in  new  enterprises. 
The  reluctance  in  this  case  was  not  so  much  to  the 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          37 

risking  of  capital,  as  to  having  his  mind  ocx  dpied  with 
the  care  which  it  would  impose.  These  objections 
slowly  yielded  to  other  considerations.  As  they  talk- 
ed it  over,  the  large  heart  of  Mr.  Cooper  began  to  see 
that,  if  it  were  possible  to  accomplish  such  a  work,  it 
would  be  a  great  public  benefit.  This  consideration 
prevailed,  and  what  would  not  have  been  undertaken 
as  a  private  speculation,  was  yielded  to  public  interest. 
The  conference  ended  by  a  conditional  agreement. 
Mr.  Cooper  would  engage  in  it,  if  several  others  did. 
In  the  end,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  he  became  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Company,  and  as  such  has  remained  to 
this  day. 

The  early  accession  of  this  gentleman  gave  strength 
to  the  new  enterprise.  In  all  the  million  inhabit- 
ants of  the  city  of  New- York  there  is  not  a  name 
which  is  better  known,  or  more  justly  held  in  honor, 
than  that  of  Peter  Cooper.  A  native  of  the  city, 
where  he  has  passed  his  whole  life,  he  has  seen  its 
growth,  from  the  small  town  it  was  just  after  the  Rev- 
olution, and  has  himself  grown  with  it.  Beginning  with 
very  small  means  and  limited  opportunities,  he  has 
become  one  of  the  great  capitalists  of  the  New 
World.  But  many  who  thus  rise  to  wealth,  in  tho 
process  of  accumulation,  form  penurious  habits  which 
cling  to  them,  and  to  the  end  of  their  days  it  is 
the  chief  object  of  life  to  hoard  and  to  keep.  But 


33          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

Mr.  Cooper,  while  acquiring  the  fortune,  has  had  also 
the  heart,  of  a  prince ;  and  has  used  his  wealth  with  a 
noble  generosity.  In  the  centre  of  New- York  stands 
to-day  a  massive  building,  consecrated  "  To  Science  and 
Art,"  on  which  he  has  already  expended  six  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  which  he  has  made  a 
free  gift  to  the  city.  His  object  was  to  benefit  the 
poor  but  respectable  young  men  and  women  of  New 
York.  Kemembering  his  own  limited  advantages  of 
education,  he  desired  that  the  young  men  of  New- 
York,  the  apprentices  and  mechanics,  should  have 
better  opportunities  than  he  had  ever  enjoyed.  For 
this  he  endowed  courses  of  lectures  on  the  natural  sci- 
ences ;  he  opened  the  largest  reading-room  in  America, 
which  furnishes  a  pleasant  resort  to  a  thousand  readers 
daily ;  while  to  help  the  other  sex,  he  added  a  School 
of  Design  for  Women,  which  sends  forth  hundreds 
well  fitted  to  be  teachers,  and  some  of  them  artists; 
and  who  go  forth  into  the  world  to  earn  an  honest  liv- 
ing, and  to  bless  the  memory  of  their  generous  bene- 
factor. This  noble  institution,  standing  right  in  the 
heart  of  New- York,  will  remain,  long  after  its  founder 
has  passed  away,  his  enduring  monument. 

Yet  while  doing  so  much  for  the  public,  those  who 
see  him  in  his  family  know  how  he  retains  the  simple 
habits  of  early  life — how,  while  giving  hundreds  of 
thousands  to  others,  he  cares  to  spend  little  on  himself; 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          39 

how  lie  remains  the  same  modest,  kindly  old  man ;  the 
pure,  the  generous,  and  good.  The  accession  of  such  a 
man  to  the  head  of  the  new  Company  was  a  benediction. 
It  brought  a  blessing  with  it ;  and  if  in  future  years  a 
hundred  cables  should  link  the  New  World  to  the 
Old,  it  will  be  a  pleasant  remembrance  that  the  begin- 
ning of  the  enterprise  was  connected  with  that  hon- 
ored name. 

Mr.  Field  next  addressed  himself  to  Mr.  Moses  Tay- 
lor, a  well-known  capitalist  of  New-York,  engaged  in 
extensive  business  reaching  to  different  parts  of  the 
world,  and  whose  daily  observation  of  all  sorts  of  en- 
terprises, both  sound  and  visionary,  made  him  per- 
haps a  severer  judge  of  any  new  scheme.  With  this 
gentleman  he  had  then  no  personal  acquaintance, 
but  sent  a  note  of  introduction  from  a  friend,  with  a 
line  requesting  an  interview,  to  which  Mr.  Taylor  re- 
plied by  an  invitation  to  his  house  on  an  evening  when 
he  should  be  disengaged.  As  these  two  gentlemen 
have  since  been  very  intimately  associated,  they  re- 
cur pleasantly  to  their  first  interview.  Says  Mr. 
Field :  "  I  shall  never  forget  how  Mr.  Taylor  received 
me.  Ee  fixed  on  me  his  keen  eye,  as  if  he  would 
look  through  me :  and  then,  sitting  down,  he  listened 
to  me  for  nearly  an  hour  without  saying  a  word." 
This  was  rather  an  ominous  beginning.  However,  his 
quick  mind  soon  saw  the  possibilities  of  the  enterprise, 


40          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH, 

and  the  evening  ended  by  an  agreement — conditional, 
like  Mr.  Cooper's — to  enter  into  it. 

Mr.  Taylor,  being  thus  enlisted,  brought  in  his 
friend,  Mr.  Marshall  0.  Koberts — a  man  whose  career 
has  been  too  remarkable  to  be  passed  without  notice. 
A  native  of  the  city  of  New-York,  (though  his  fathei 
was  a  physician  from  Wales,  who  came  to  this  country 
early  in  this  century,)  he  found  himself,  when  a  boy  of 
eight  years,  an  orphan,  without  a  friend  in  the  world. 
From  that  time  he  made  his  way  purely  by  his  own 
industry  and  indomitable  will.  At  the  age  of  twenty 
he  was  embarked  in  business  for  himself,  and  his  his- 
tory soon  became  a  succession  of  great  enterprises. 
If  we  were  to  relate  some  of  the  incidents  connected 
with  his  rise  of  fortune,  they  would  sound  more  like 
romance  than  reality.  He  was  the  first  to  project  those 
floating  palaces  which  now  ply  the  waters  of  the  Hud- 
son aod  the  great  lakes.  lie  was  one  of  the  early  pro- 
moters of  the  Erie  Kail  road.  When  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  California  turned  the  tide  of  emigration  to 
that  coast,  he  started  the  line  of  steamers  running  to  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  controlled  largely  the  com- 
merce with  the  Pacific.  Thus  his  hand  was  felt,  giving 
impulse  to  many  different  enterprises  on  land  and  sea. 
His  whole  course  has  been  marked  by  a  spirit  of  com- 
mercial daring,  which  men  call  rashness,  until  they  see 
its  success,  and  then  applaud  as  marvellous  sagacity. 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.          41 

Mr.  Field  next  wrote  to  Mr.  Chandler  White,  a  per- 
sonal friend  of  many  years  standing,  who  had  retired 
from  business,  and  was  living  a  few  miles  below  the 
city,  near  Fort  Hamilton,  at  one  of  those  beautiful 
points  of  view  which  command  the  whole  harbor  of 
New-York.  He  too  was  very  slow  to  yield  to  argu- 
ment or  persuasion.  Why  should  he — when  he  had 
cast  anchor  in  this  peaceful  spot — again  embark  in  the 
cares  of  business,  and,  worst  of  all,  in  an  enterprise  the 
scene  of  which  was  far  distant,  and  the  results  very 
uncertain  ?  But  enthusiasm  is  always  magnetic,  and 
the  glowing  descriptions  of  his  persuader  at  length 
prevailed.* 

There  were  now  five  gentlemen  enlisted ;  and  Mr. 
Field  was  about  to  apply  to  others,  to  make  up  his 
proposed  number,  when  Mr.  Cooper  came  to  ask  why 
five  would  not  do  as  well  as  ten  ?  The  question  was  no 
sooner  asked  than  answered.  To  this  all  agreed,  and 
at  once  fixed  an  evening  when  they  should  meet  at 
Mr.  Field's  house  to  hear  his  statements  and  to  ex- 

*  Although  it  is  anticipating  a  year  in  time,  I  cannot  resist  the  plea- 
sure of  adding  here  the  name  of  another  eminent  merchant,  who  after- 
ward joined  this  little  Company,  Mr.  Wilson  G.  Hunt.  Mr.  Hunt  is 
one  of  the  old  merchants  of  New- York  who,  through  his  whole  career, 
has  maintained  the  highest  reputation  for  commercial  integrity,  and 
whose  fortune  is  the  reward  of  a  long  life  of  honorable  industry.  He 
joined  the  Company  in  1855,  and  has  been  a  strong  and  steady  friend 
from  that  day  to  this. 


42          HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

amine  the  charter  of  the  old  company,  find  out  what  it 
had  done,  and  what  it  proposed  to  do,  what  property 
it  had  and  what  debts  it  owed ;  and  decide  whether 
the  enterprise  offered  sufficient  inducements  to  embark 
in  it.  Accordingly  they  met,  and  for  four  nights  in 
succession  discussed  the  subject.  It  was  in  the  dining- 
room  of  Mr.  Field's  house,  and  the  large  table  was 
spread  with  maps  of  the  route  to  be  traversed  by  the 
line  of  telegraph,  and  with  plans  and  estimates  of  the 
work  to  be  done,  the  cost  of  doing  it,  and  the  return 
which  they  might  hope  in  the  end  to  realize  for  their 
labor  and  their  capital.  The  result  was  an  agreement 
on  the  part  of  all  to  enter  on  the  undertaking,  if  the 
Government  of  Newfoundland  would  grant  a  new 
charter  conceding  more  favorable  terms.  To  secure 
this  it  was  important  to  send  at  once  a  commission  to 
Newfoundland.  Neither  Mr.  Cooper,  Mr.  Taylor,  nor 
Mr.  Eoberts  would  go ;  and  it  devolved  on  Mr.  Field 
to  make  the  first  voyage  on  this  business,  as  it  did  the 
more  than  fifty  voyages  since,  either  to  Newfound- 
land, or  across  the  Atlantic.  But  not  wishing  to 
take  the  whole  responsibility,  he  was  accompanied 
at  his  earnest  request  by  Mr.  White,  and  by  Mr.  D.  D. 
Field,  whose  counsel,  as  he  was  to  be  the  legal  adviser  o 
the  Company,  was  all-important  in  the  framing  of  the 
new  charter  that  was  to  secure  the  rights  of  the  Coin- 
pan  v.  Says  the  latter  gentleman,  in  an  account  given 
afterwards  : 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          43 

"  The  agreement  with  the  Electric  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, and  the  formal  surrender  of  its  charter,  were 
signed  on  the  tenth  of  March,  [1854,]  and  on  the  four- 
teenth we  left  New- York,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Gis- 
borne.  The  next  morning  we  took  the  steamer  at 
Boston  for  Halifax,  and  thence,  on  the  night  of  the 
eighteenth,  departed  in  the  little  steamer  Merlin  for 
St.  John's,  Newfoundland.  Three  more  disagreeable 
days,  voyagers  scarcely  ever  passed,  than  we  spent  in 
that  smallest  of  steamers.  It  seemed  as  if  all  the 
storms  of  winter  had  been  reserved  for  the  first  month 
of  spring.  A  frost-bound  coast,  an  icy  sea,  rain,  hail, 
snow  and  tempest,  were  the  greetings  of  the  telegraph 
adventurers  in  their  first  movement  towards  Europe. 
In  the  darkest  night,  through  which  no  man  could  see 
the  ship's  length,  with  snow  filling  the  air  and  flying 
into  the  eyes  of  the  sailors,  with  ice  itf  the  water,  and 
a  heavy  sea  rolling  and  moaning  about  us,  the  captain 
felt  his  way  around  Cape  Race  with  his  lead,  as  the 
blind  man  feels  his  way  with  his  staff,  but  as  confi- 
dently and  as  safely  as  if  the  sky  had  been  clear  and 
the  sea  calm  ;  and  the  light  of  morning  dawned  upon 
deck  and  mast  and  spar,  coated  with  glittering  ice,  but 
floating  securely  between  the  mountains  which  form 
the  gates  of  the  harbor  of  St.  John's.  In  that  busy 
and  hospitable  town,  the  first  person  to  whom  we  were 
introduced  was  Mr,  Edward  M.  Archibald,  then  Attor- 


44          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ney-General  of  the  Colony,  and  now  British  Consul  in 
New- York.  He  entered  warmly  into  our  views,  and 
from  that  day  to  this,  has  been  an  efficient  and  consist- 
ent supporter  of  the  undertaking.  By  him  we  were 
introduced  to  the  Governor,  (Kerr  Bailey  Hamilton,) 
who  also  took  an  earnest  interest  in  our  plans.  He 
convoked  the  Council  to  receive  us,  and  hear  an  ex- 
planation of  our  views  and  wishes.  In  a  few  hours 
after  the  conference,  the  answer  of  the  Governor  and 
Council  was  received,  consenting  to  recommend  to  the 
Assembly  a  guarantee  of  the  interest  of  £50,000  of 
bonds,  an  immediate  grant  of  fifty  square  miles  of 
land,  a  further  grant  to  the  same  extent  on  the  com- 
pletion of  the  telegraph  across  the  ocean,  and  a  pay- 
ment of  £5000  toward  the  construction  of  a  bridle- 
path across  the  island,  along  the  line  of  the  land 
telegraph." 

This  was  a  hopeful  beginning ;  and,  though  the 
charter  was  not  yet  obtained,  feeling  assured  by  this 
official  encouragement,  and  the  public  interest  in  the 
project,  that  it  would  be  granted  by  the  colony,  Mr. 
Field  remained  in  St.  John's  but  three  days,  when 
he  took  the  Merlin  back  to  Halifax  on  his  way  to 
New- York,  there  to  purchase  and  send  down  a  steamer 
for  the  service  of  the  Company,  leaving  his  associates 
to  secure  the  charter  and  to  carry  out  the  arrange- 
ments with  the  former  company.  To  settle  all  these 


HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.         45 

details  was  necessarily  a  work  of  time.  First,  the 
charter  of  the  old  "  Electric  Telegraph  Company  "  had 
to  be  repealed,  to  clear  the  way  for  a  new  charter  to 
the  Company,  which  was  to  bear  the  more  comprehen- 
sive title  of  "  New-York,  Newfoundland,  and  London" 
This  charter — which  had  been  drawn  with  the  greatest 
care  by  the  counsel  of  the  Company,  while  on  the 
voyage  to  Newfoundland — bore  on  its  very  front  the 
declaration  that  the  plans  of  the  new  Company  were 
much  broader  than  those  of  the  old.  In  the  former 
charter,  the  design  was  thus  set  forth : 

"  The  telegraph  line  of  this  company  is  designed  to  be 
strictly  an  '  Inter-Continental  Telegraph.'  Its  termini 
will  be  New- York,  in  the  United  States,  and  London, 
in  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain ;  these  points  are  to 
be  connected  by  a  line  of  electric  telegraph  from  New- 
York  to  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  partly  on  poles, 
partly  laid  in  the  ground,  and  partly  through  the 
water,  and  a  line  of  the  swiftest  steamships  ever  built  from 
that  point  to  Ireland.  The  trips  of  these  steamships,  it 
is  expected,  will  not  exceed  five  days,  and  as  very  little 
time  will  be  occupied  in  transmitting  messages  between 
St.  John's  and  New- York,  the  communication  between 
the  latter  city  and  London  or  Liverpool,  will  be  effect- 
ed in  six  days,  or  less.  The  company  will  have  like- 
wise stationed  at  St.  John's  a  steam  yacht,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  intercepting  the  European  and  American  steam- 


46          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ships,  so  that  no  opportunity  may  be  lost  in  forward 
ing  intelligence  in  advance  of  the  ordinary  channels  OT 
communication." 

But  the  charter  of  the  "  New- York,  Newfoundland, 
and  London  Telegraph  Company,"  which  was  now  to 
be  obtained,  began  by  declaring,  in  its  very  first  sen- 
tence :  "  Whereas,  it  is  deemed  advisable,  to  establish 
a  line  of  telegraphic  communication  between  America 
and  Europe,  by  way  of  Newfoundland."  Not  a  word 
is  said  of  fast  ships,  of  communications  in  less  than  six 
days,  but  every  thing  points  to  a  line  across  the  ocean. 
Thus  one  section  gives  authority  to  establish  a  subma- 
rine telegraph  across  the  ocean,  from  Newfoundland  to 
Ireland ;  another  section  prohibits  any  other  company 
or  person  from  touching  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  or 
its  dependencies  [which  includes  Labrador]  with  a  tele- 
graphic cable  or  wire,  from  any  point  whatever,  for 
fifty  years ;  and  a  third  section  grants  the  Company 
fifty  square  miles  of  land  upon  the  completion  of  the 
submarine  line  across  the  Atlantic. 

In  other  respects  the  charter  was  equally  liberal.  It 
incorporated  the  associates  for  fifty  years,  established 
perfect  equality  in  respect  to  corporators  and  officers, 
between  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  British  sub- 
jects, and  allowed  the  meetings  of  the  stockholders  and 
directors  to  be  held  in  New- York,  in  Newfoundland, 
or  in  London. 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.         47 

To  obtain  such  concessions  was  a  work  of  some  diffi- 
culty and  delay.  The  Legislature  of  the  province  were 
naturally  anxious  to  scan  carefully  conditions  that 
were  to  bind  them  and  their  children  for  half  a  cen- 
tury. I  have  now  before  me  the  papers  of  St.  John's 
of  that  day,  containing  the  discussions  in  the  Legisla- 
ture ;  and  while  all  testify  to  the  deep  public  interest 
in  the  stupendous  project,  they  show  a  due  care  for 
the  interests  of  their  own  colony,  which  they  were  bound 
to  protect.  At  length  all  difficulties  were  removed, 
and  the  charter  was  passed  unanimously  by  the  As- 
sembly, and  confirmed  by  the  Council. 

This  happy  result  was  duly  celebrated,  in  the  man- 
ner which  all  Englishmen  approve,  by  a  grand  ban- 
quet given  by  the  commissioners  of  the  new  Company, 
to  the  members  of  the  Assembly  and  other  dignitaries 
of  the  colony.  The  report  of  that  dinner  is  now  be- 
fore me  in  the  St.  John's  papers  :  and  it  is  gratifying 
to  perceive  how  heartily  the  enterprise  was  welcomed 
by  all  classes ;  and  how  fond  were  the  anticipations 
of  the  increased  intercourse  it  would  bring,  and  the 
manifold  benefits  it  would  confer  on  their  long-ne- 
glected island. 

No  sooner  were  the  papers  signed,  than  the  wheels, 
so  long  blocked,  were  unloosed,  and  the  machinery 
began  to  move.  Mr.  White  at  once  drew  on  New- 
York  for  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  paid  off  all 


48          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

the  debts  of  the  old  company.  A  St.  John's  news- 
paper of  April  8th,  1854,  amid  a  great  deal  on  the 
subject,  contains  this  paragraph,  which  is  very  sig- 
nificant of  the  dead  state  of  the  old  company,  and  of 
the  life  of  the  new : 

"  The  office  of  the  new  Electric  Telegraph  Company 
has  been  surrounded  the  last  two  or  three  days  by  the 
men  who  had  been  engaged  the  last  year  on  the  line, 
and  who  are  being  paid  all  debts,  dues,  and  demands 
against  the  old  association.  We  look  upon  the  readi- 
ness with  which  these  claims  are  liquidated  as  a  sub- 
stantial indication  on  the  part  of  the  new  Company 
that  they  will  complete  to  the  letter  all  that  they 
have  declared  to  accomplish  in  this  important  under- 
taking." 

In  the  early  part  of  May,  the  two  gentlemen  who 
had  remained  behind  in  Newfoundland  rejoined  their 
associates  in  New- York,  and  there  the  charter  was  for- 
mally accepted  and  the  Company  organized.  As  all 
the  associates  had  not  arrived  till  Saturday  evening, 
the  sixth  of  May,  and  as  one  of  them  was  to  leave 
town  on  Monday  morning,  it  was  agreed  that  they 
should  meet  for  organization  at  six  o'clock  of  that  day. 
At  that  hour  they  came  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Field's 
brother,  and  as  the  first  rays  of  the  morning  sun 
streamed  into  the  windows,  the  formal  organization 
took  place.  The  charter  was  accepted,  the  stock  sub- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.         49 

scribed,  and  the  officers  chosen.  Mr.  Cooper,  Mr. 
Taylor,  Mr.  Field,  Mr.  Roberts,  and  Mr.  White  were 
the  first  directors.  Mr.  Cooper  was  chosen  President, 
Mr.  White,  Vice-President,  and  Mr.  Taylor,  Treasurer. 

This  is  a  short  story,  and  soon  told.  It  seemed  a 
light  affair,  for  half  a  dozen  men  thus  to  meet  in  the 
early  morning  and  toss  off  such  a  business  before  break- 
fast. But  what  a  work  was  that  to  which  they  thus 
put  their  hands !  A  capital  of  a  million  and  a  half  of 
dollars  was  subscribed  in  those  few  minutes,  and  a 
company  put  in  operation  that  was  to  carry  a  line  of 
telegraph  to  St.  John's,  more  than  a  thousand  miles 
from  New- York,  and  then  to  span  the  wild  sea.  Well 
was  it  that  they  who  undertook  the  work  did  not  then 
fully  realize  its  magnitude,  or  they  might  have  shrunk 
from  the  attempt.  Well  was  it  for  them  that  the  veil 
was  not  lifted,  which  shut  from  their  eyes  the  long 
delay,  the  immense  toil,  and  the  heavy  burdens  of 
many  wearisome  years.  Such  a  prospect  might  have 
chilled  the  most  sanguine  spirit.  But  a  kind  Provi- 
cjence  gives  men  strength  for  their  day,  imposes  bur- 
dens as  they  are  able  to  bear  them,  and  thus  leads 
them  on  to  greater  achievements  than  they  kne,  w. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  LAND  LINE  BEGUN  IN  NEWFOUNDLAND.  IMMENSE  UNDERTAKING. 
FOUR  HUNDRED  MILES  OF  ROAD  TO  BE  BUILT.  Two  YEARS  OF  LABOR. 
FIRST  ATTEMPT  TO  LAY  A  CABLE  ACROSS  THE  GULF  OF  ST.  LAWRENCE, 
IN  1855.  FAILURE.  SECOND  ATTEMPT,  IN  1856,  WHICH  is  SUCCESS- 
FUL. 

THERE  is  nothing  in  the  world  easier  than  to  build 
a  line  of  railroad,  or  of  telegraph,  on  paper.  You 
have  only  to  take  the  map,  and  mark  the  points  to  be 
connected,  and  then  with  a  single  sweep  of  the  pencil 
to  draw  the  line  along  which  the  iron  track  is  to  run. 
In  this  airy  flight  of  the  imagination,  distances  are 
nothing.  A  thousand  leagues  vanish  at  a  stroke.  All 
obstacles  disappear.  The  valleys  are  exalted,  and  the 
hills  are  made  low,  noble  bridges  span  the  mountain 
streams,  and  the  chasms  are  leaped  in  safety  by  the 
fire-drawn  cars. 

Very  different  is  it  to  construct  a  line  of  railroad  or 
of  telegraph  in  reality;  to  come  with  an  army  01  la- 
borers, with  axes  on  their  shoulders  to  cut  down  the 
forests,  and  with  spades  in  their  hands  to  cast  up  the 
highway.  Then  poetry  sinks  to  prose,  and  instead  of 


HISTORY  OF   THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH.          51 

flying  over  the  space  on  wings,  one  must  traverse  it 
on  foot,  slowly  and  with  painful  steps.  Then  nature 
asserts  her  power ;  and,  as  if  resentful  of  the  disdain 
with  which  man  in  his  pride  affected  to  leap  over  her, 
she  piles  up  new  barriers  in  his  way.  The  mountains 
with  their  rugged  sides  cannot  be  moved  out  of  their 
place.  The  granite  rocks  must  be  cleft  in  twain, 
to  open  a  passage  for  this  boasting  hero,  before  he 
can  begin  his  triumphal  march.  The  woods  seem  to 
thicken  into  an  impassable  jungle;  and  the  morass 
sinks  deeper,  threatening  to  swallow  up  the  horse  and 
his  rider;  until  the  rash  projector  is  startled  at  his 
own  audacity.  Then  it  becomes  a  contest  of  forces 
between  man  and  nature,  in  which,  if  he  would  con- 
quer, he  must  fight  his  way.  The  barriers  of  nature 
cannot  be  lightly  pushed  aside,  but  must  yield  at  last 
only  to  time  and  toil,  and  "  man's  unconquerable  will." 
Seldom  have  all  these  obstacles  been  combined  in  a 
more  formidable  manner  to  obstruct  any  public  work, 
than  against  the  attempt  to  build  a  telegraph  line 
across  the  island  of  Newfoundland.  The  distance, 
by  the  route  to  be  traversed,  was  over  four  hundred 
miles,  and  the  country  was  a  wilderness,  an  utter  deso- 
lation. Yet  through  such  a  country,  over  mountain 
and  moor,  through  tangled  brake  and  rocky  gorge, 
over  rivers  and  through  morasses,  they  were  to  build 
a  road — not  merely  a  line  of  telegraph  stuck  on  poles, 


52          HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH. 

but  "  a  good  and  traversable  bridle-road,  eight  feet 
wide,  with  bridges  of  the  same  width,"  from  end  to 
end  of  the  island. 

But  nothing  daunted,  the  new  Company  undertook 
the  great  work  with  spirit  and  resolution.  Gisborne 
had  made  a  beginning,  and  got  some  thirty  or  forty 
miles  out  of  St.  John's.  This  was  the  easiest  part 
of  the  whole  route,  being  in  the  most  inhabited  regioL 
of  the  island.  But  here  he  broke  down,  just  where  it 
was  necessary  to  leave  civilization  behind,  and  to 
plunge  into  the  wilderness. 

Intending  to  resume  the  work  on  a  much  larger 
scale,  Mr.  White,  the  Yice-President,  was  sent  down 
to  St.  John's  to  be  the  General  Agent  of  the  Com- 
pany ;  while  Mr.  Matthew  D.  Field,  as  a  practical  en- 
gineer, was  to  have  charge  of  the  construction  of  the 
line.  The  latter  soon  organized  a  force  of  six  hundred 
men,  which  he  pushed  forward  in  detachments  to  the 
scene  of  operations. 

And  now  began  to  appear  still  more  the  difficulties 
of  the  way.  To  provide  subsistence  at  all  for  man 
and  beast,  it  was  necessary  to  keep  near  the  coast,  for 
all  supplies  had  to  be  sent  round  by  sea.  Yet  in  fol- 
lowing the  coast  line,  they  had  to  wind  around  bays, 
or  to  climb  over  headlands.  If  they  struck  into  the 
interior,  they  had  to  cut  their  way  through  the  dense 
and  tangled  wood.  There  was  not  a  path  to  guide 


HISTOTIY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEOrRAPH.          53 

them,  not  even  an  Indian  trail.  When  lost  in  the 
forest,  they  had  to  follow  the  compass,  as  much  as  the 
manner  at  sea. 

To  keep  such  a  force  in  the  field,  that,  like  an  army, 
produced  nothing,  but  consumed  fearfully,  required 
constant  attention  to  the  commissary  department. 
The  little  steamer  Yictoria,  which  belonged  to  the 
Company,  was  kept  constantly  plying  along  the  coast, 
carrying  barrels  of  pork  and  potatoes,  kegs  of  powder, 
pickaxes  and  spades  and  shovels,  and  all  the  imple- 
ments of  labor.  These  were  taken  up  to  the  heads 
of  the  bays,  and  thence  carried,  chiefly  on  men's 
backs,  over  the  hills  to  the  line  of  the  road. 

In  many  respects,  it  had  the  features  of  a  military 
expedition.  It  moved  forward  in  a  great  camp.  The 
men  were  sheltered  in  tents,  when  sheltered  at  all,  or  in 
small  huts  which  they  built  along  the  road.  But  more 
often  they  slept  on  the  ground.  It  was  a  wild  and 
picturesque  sight  to  come  upon  their  camp  in  the 
woods,  to  see  their  fires  blazing  at  night  while  hun- 
dreds of  stalwart  sleepers  lay  stretched  on  the  ground. 
Sometimes,  when  encamped  on  the  hills,  they  could  be 
seen  afar  off  at  sea.  It  made  a  pretty  picture  then. 
But  the  hardy  men  thought  little  of  the  figure  they 
were  making,  when  they  were  exposed  to  the  fury  of 
the  elements.  Often  the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  and  the 
men,  crouching  under  their  slight  shelter,  listened  sadly 


54:          HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

to  the  sighing  of  the  wind  among  the  trees,  answered 
by  the  desolate  moaning  of  the  sea. 

Yet  in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  the  work  went  on. 
All  through  the  long  days  of  summer,  and  through 
the  months  of  autumn,  every  cove  and  creek  along 
that  southern  coast  heard  the  plashing  of  their  oars, 
and  the  steady  stroke  of  their  axes  resounded  through 
the  forest. 

But  as  the  season  advanced,  all  these  difficulties  in- 
creased. For  nearly  half  the  year,  the  island  is  buried 
in  snow.  Blinding  drifts  sweep  over  the  moors,  and 
choke  up  the  paths  of  the  forest.  How  at  such  times 
the  expedition  lay  floundering  in  the  woods,  or  at- 
tempting still  to  force  its  way  onward ;  what  hard- 
ships and  sufferings  the  men  endured — all  this  is  a 
chapter  in  the  History  of  the  Telegraph  which  has 
not  been  written,  and  which  can  nev^r  be  fully  told. 
But 

Gentlemen  of  England, 
Who  dwell  at  home  at  ease, 

and  who  are  justly  proud  of  the  extent  of  their  do- 
minions, and  the  life  and  power  which  pervade  the 
whole,  may  here  find  another  example  of  the  way  in 
which  great  works  are  borne  forward  in  distant  parts 
of  their  empire. 

But  to  carry  out  such  an  enterprise,  requires  "head- 
work  "  as  well  as  "  hand- work"  Engineering  in  the 


O  o 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          55 

field  must  be  supported  by  financiering  at  homo.  It 
was  here  the  former  enterprise  broke  down,  and  now 
it  needed  constant  watching  to  keep  the  wheels  in 
steady  motion.  The  directors  in  New-York  found  a 
daily  demand  on  their  attention.  The  minds  which 
had  grasped  the  large  design,  must  now  descend  to  an 
infinity  of  detail.  They  had  to  keep  an  army  of  men 
at  work,  at  a  point  a  thousand  miles  away,  far  beyond 
their  immediate  oversight.  Drafts  for  money  came 
thick  and  fast.  To  provide  for  all  these  required 
constant  attention.  How  faithfully  they  gave  to  this 
enterprise,  not  only  their  money,  but  their  time  and 
thought,  few  will  know ;  but  we  who  have  seen  can 
testify.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year,  1854,  the  writer 
removed  to  the  city  of  New- York,  and  was  almost 
daily  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Field.  Yet  for  months  it 
was  hardly  possible  to  go  there  of  an  ev6ning  without 
finding  the  library  occupied  by  the  Company.  In- 
deed, so  uniformly  was  this  the  case,  that  "  the  Tele- 
graph "  began  to  be  regarded  by  the  family  as  an  un- 
welcome intrusion,  since  it  put  an  interdict  on  the  for- 
mer social  evenings  and  quiet  domestic  enjoyment. 
The  circumstance  shows  the  ceaseless  care  on  the  part 
of  the  directors  which  the  enterprise  involved.  As  a 
witness  of  their  incessant  labors,  it  is  due  to  them  to 
bear  this  testimony  to  their  patience  and  their  fidelity. 
"When  they  began  the  work,  they  hoped  to  carry 


56          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

the  line  across  Newfoundland  in  one  year,  completing 
it  in  the  summer  of  1855.  In  anticipation  of  this, 
Mr.  Field  was  sent  by  the  Company  to  England  at 
the  close  of  1854,  to  order  a  cable  to  span  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence,  to  connect  Cape  Eay  with  the  island 
of  Cape  Breton.  This  was  his  first  voyage  across  the 
ocean  on  the  business  of  the  Telegraph — to  be  fol- 
lowed by  more  than  thirty  others.  In  London  he  met 
for  the  first  time  Mr.  John.  W.  Brett,  with  whom  ho 
was  to  be  afterward  connected  in  the  larger  enterprise 
of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph.  Mr.  Brett  was  the  father 
of  submarine  telegraphy  in  Europe,  though  in  carrying 
out  his  first  projects  he  was  largely  indebted  to  Mr. 
Crampton,  a  well-known  engineer  of  London,  who  aid- 
ed him  both  with  advice  and  capital.  With  this  in- 
valuable assistance,  he  had  stretched  two  lines  across 
the  British  channel.  From  his  success  in  passing  these 
waters,  he  believed  a  line  might  yet  be  stretched  from 
continent  to  continent.  The  scientific  men  of  England 
were  not  then  educated  up  to  that  point.  The  bare 
suggestion  was  received  with  a  smile  of  incredulity. 
But  Mr.  Brett  "  had  faith,"  even  at  that  early  day, 
and  entered  heartily  into  the  schemes  of  Mr.  Field. 
To  show  his  interest,  he  afterward  took  a  few  shares  in 
the  Newfoundland  line — the  only  Englishman  who  had 
any  part  in  this  preliminary  work. 

The  summer  came,  and  the  work  in  Newfoundland, 
though  not  complete,  was  advancing;  and  the  cable 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.         57 

in  England  was  finished  and  shipped  on  board  the 
bark  Sarah  L.  Bryant  to  cross  the  sea.  Anticipating 
its  arrival,  the  Company  chartered  a  steamer  to  go 
down  to  Newfoundland  to  assist  in  its  submersion 
across  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  As  yet  they  had 
had  no  experience  in  the  business  of  laying  a  sub- 
marine telegraph,  and  did  not  doubt  that  the  work 
could  be  accomplished  with  the  greatest  ease.  It  was 
therefore  to  be  an  excursion  of  pleasure  as  well  as  of 
business,  and  accordingly  they  invited  a  large  party  to 
go  down  to  witness  the  unaccustomed  spectacle. 

As  we  chanced  to  be  among  the  guests,  we  have  the 
best  reason  to  remember  it.  Seldom  has  a  more  pleasant 
party  been  gathered  for  any  expedition.  Represent- 
ing  the  Company  were  Mr.  Field,  Mr.  Peter  Cooper, 
Mr.  Eobert  W.  Lowber,  and  Professor  Morse,  while 
among  the  invited  guests  were  gentlemen  of  all  pro- 
fessions— clergymen,  doctors  and  lawyers,  artists  and 
editors.  Rev.  Drs.  Field  and  Gardiner  Spring,  with 
their  white  hairs,  were  among  us,  and  the  Eev.  J.  M. 
Sherwood ;  Dr.  Lewis  A.  Sayre,  Bayard  Taylor,  the 
well-known  traveller,  Mr.  Fitz-James  O'Brien,  and 
Mr.  John  Mullaly — the  three  latter  gentlemen  repre- 
senting leading  papers  of  New- York.*  Besides  these, 

*  The  letters  of  Mr.  Taylor,  which  first  appeared  in  the  Tribune, 
have  been  since  collected  in  one  of  his  volumes  of  travel.  Mr.  O'Brien, 
a  very  brilliant  writer,  who  afterward  fell  in  our  ciril  war,  fighting 

8* 


58         HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

the  party  included  a  large  number  of  ladies,  who  gave 
life  and  animation  to  the  company. 

"Well  do  we  recall  the  morning  of  our  departure.  It 
was  eleven  years  ago — the  seventh  of  August,  1855. 
Never  did  a  voyage  begin  with  fairer  omens.  It  was  a 
bright  summer  day.  The  sky  was  clear,  and  the  wa- 
ter smooth.  We  were  on  the  deck  of  the  good  ship 
James  Adger,  long  known  as  one  of  the  fine  steamers 
belonging  to  the  Charleston  line.  She  was  a  swift 
ship,  and  cut  the  water  like  an  arrow.  Thus  we  sped 
down  the  bay,  and  turning  into  the  ocean,  skimmed 
along  the  shores  of  Long  Island.  The  sea  was  tran- 
quil as  a  lake.  The  whole  party  were  on  deck,  scat- 
tered in  groups  here  and  there,  watching  the  sails  and 
the  shore.  A  rude  telegraph  instrument  furnished  en- 
tertainment and  instruction,  especially  as  we  had  Pro- 

bravely  for  his  adopted  country,  furnished  some  spirited  letters  to  the 
Times.  But  Mr.  Mullaly,  who  appeared  for  the  Herald,  was  the  most 
persevering  attendant  on  the  Telegraph,  and  the  most  indefatigable 
correspondent.  He  accompanied  not  only  this  expedition,  but  several 
others.  He  was  on  board  the  Niagara  in  1857,  and  again  in  both 
the  expeditions  of  1858  ;  and  on  the  final  success  of  the  cable,  pre- 
pared a  volume,  which  was  published  by  the  Appletons,  giving  the  his- 
tory of  the  enterprise.  This  contains  the  fullest  account  of  all  those 
expeditions  which  has  been  given  to  the  public.  I  have  had  frequent 
occasion  to  refer  to  his  book,  and  can  bear  witness  to  the  interest 
of  the  narrative.  It  is  written  with  spirit,  and  doubtless  would  have 
had  a  longer  life,  if  the  cable  itself  had  not  come  to  an  untimely  end. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.          59 

fessor  Morse  to  explain  this  marvellous  invention, 
which  some  of  us  felt  that  we  then  for  the  first  time 
fully  understood.  All  day  long  we  lingered  on  the 
deck,  and  here  kept  watching  still  as  the  sun  went 
down  in  the  waves,  and  the  stars  began  to  twinkle  on 
the  deep.  It  was  a  day  not  to  be  forgotten. 

At  Halifax,  several  of  us  left  the  ship,  and  came 
across  Nova  Scotia,  passing  through  that  lovely  region 
of  Acadia  which  Longfellow  has  invested  with  such 
tender  interest  in  his  poem  of  Evangeline.  Thence 
we  crossed  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to  St  John  in  New- 
Brunswick,  and  returned  by  way  of  Portland. 

The  James  Adger  went  on  to  Newfoundland,  steer- 
ing first  for  Port  au  Basque,  near  Cape  Ray,  where 
they  hoped  to  meet  the  bark  which  was  to  come  from 
England  with  the  cable  on  board.  To  their  disap- 
pointment, it  had  not  arrived.  Mr.  Cjanning,  the  en- 
gineer who  was  to  lay  the  cable,  had  come  out  by 
steamer,  and  was  on  hand,  but  the  bark  was  not  to  be 
seen.  Having  to  wait  several  days,  and  wishing  to 
make  the  most  of  their  time,  they  sailed  for  St. 
John's,  where  they  were  received  by  the  Provincial 
Government  and  the  people  with  unbounded  hospi- 
tality, after  which  they  returned  to  Port  au  Basque, 
and  were  now  rejoiced  to  discover  the  little  bark  hid- 
den behind  the  rocks.  It  was  decided  to  land  the 
cable  in  Cape  Bay  Cove.  After  a  day  or  two's  delay 


60         HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

in  getting  the  end  to  the  shore,  they  started  to  cross 
the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  the  Adger  towing  the  bark. 
The  sea  was  calm,  and  though  they  were  obliged  to 
move  slowly,  yet  all  promised  well,  till  they  were 
about  half-way  across,  when  a  gale  arose,  which  pitch- 
ed the  bark  so  violently,  that  with  its  unwieldy  bulk 
it  was  in  great  danger  of  sinking.  After  holding  on 
for  hours  in  the  vain  hope  that  it  would  abate,  the 
captain  cut  the  cable  to  save  the  bark;  and  thus, 
after  they  had  paid  out  forty  miles,  it  was  hopelessly 
lost,  and  the  Adger  returned  to  New-York. 

This  loss  was  owing  partly  to  the  severity  of  the 
gale,  and  partly  to  the  fact  that  the  bark  which  had 
the  cable  on  board  was  wholly  unfitted  for  the  pur- 
pose. It  was  a  sailing-vessel,  and  had  to  be  towed  by 
another  ship.  In  this  way  it  was  impossible  to  regu- 
late its  motion.  It  was  too  fast  or  too  slow.  It  was 
liable  to  be  swayed  by  the  sea,  now  giving  a  lurch 
ahead,  and  now  dragging  behind.  Experience  showed 
that  a  cable  should  always  be  laid  from  a  steam- vessel 
which  could  regulate  its  own  motion,  running  out 
freely  when  all  went  smooth^  and  checking  its 
speed  instantly  when  it  was  necessary  to  ease  up  the 
strain,  or  to  pay  out  more  slack  to  fill  up  the  hollows 
of  the  sea. 

This  first  loss  of  a  submarine  cable  was  a  severe 
disappointment  to  the  Company.  It  postponed  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          61 

enterprise  for  a  whole  year.  To  make  a  new  cable 
would  require  several  months.  The  season  was  now 
so  far  advanced  that  it  could  not  be  laid  before  another 
summer.  Was  it  strange  if  some  of  the  little  band  be- 
gan to  ask  if  they  had  not  lost  enough,  and  to  reason 
that  it  was  better  to  stop  where  they  were,  than  to  go 
on  still  farther,  casting  their  treasures  into  the  sea  ? 

But  there  was  in  that  little  company  a  spirit  of  hope 
and  determination  that  could  not  be  subdued  ;  that 
ever  cried :  "  Once  more  unto  the  breach,  good  friends  I" 
After  some  deliberation,  it  was  resolved  to  renew  the 
attempt.  Mr.  Field  again  sailed  for  England  to  order 
another  cable,  which  was  duly  made  and  sent  out  the 
following  summer.  This  time,  warned  by  experience, 
the  Company  invited  no  party  and  made  no  display. 
The  cable  was  placed  on  board  a  steamer  fitted  for  the 
purpose.  It  was  laid  without  accident,  and  remained 
in  perfect  working  order  for  nine  years. 

Meanwhile  the  work  on  land  had  been  pushed  for- 
ward without  ceasing.  After  incredible  labor,  the 
Company  had  built  a  road  and  a  telegraph  from  one 
end  of  Newfoundland  to  the  other,  four  hundred 
miles  ;  and,  as  if  that  were  not  enough,  had  built 
also  another  line,  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  in 
length,  in  the  island  of  Cape  Breton.  The  first  part 
of  their  work  was  now  done.  The  telegraph  had 
been  carried  beyond  the  United  States  through  the 


62          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

British  Provinces  to  St.  John's  in  Newfoundland,  a 
distance  from  New- York  of  over  one  thousand  miles. 

The  cost  of  the  line,  thus  far,  had  been  about  a 
million  of  dollars,  and  of  this  the  whole  burden,  with 
but  trifling  exceptions,  had  fallen  upon  the  original 
projectors — Mr.  Field  having  put  in  over  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars  in  money  —  and  Mr.  Cooper,  Mr. 
Taylor,  and  Mr.  Eoberts  each  a  little  less.  No  other 
contributors  beyond  the  six  original  subscribers  had 
come,  except  Professor  Morse,  Mr.  Kobert  W.  Low- 
ber,  Mr.  Wilson  Or.  Hunt,  and  Mr.  John  W.  Brett. 
The  list  of  directors  and  officers  remained  as  it  was 
at  first,  except  that  this  year,  1856,  Mr.  White  died, 
and  his  place  as  director  was  filled  by  Mr.  Hunt,  and 
that  Mr.  Field  was  chosen  Yice-President,  and  Mr. 
Lowber  Secretary.  In  all  the  operations  of  the  Com- 
pany thus  far,  the  various  negotiations,  the  plan  of  the 
work,  the  oversight  of  its  execution,  and  the  corre- 
spondence with  the  officers  and  others,  mainly  de- 
volved upon  Mr.  Field. 

And  so  at  length,  after  two  long  and  weary  years, 
these  bold  projectors  had  accomplished  half  their  work. 
They  had  passed  over  the  land,  and  under  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence,  and  having  reached  the  farthest  point 
of  the  American  coast,  they  now  stood  upon  the  cliffs 
of  Newfoundland,  looking  off  upon  the  wide  sea. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE  DEEP  SEA    SOUNDINGS,    THE    OLD   METHOD  OF  BALL  AND  LI.VE. 

MASSEY'S  INDICATOR.  INVENTION  OF  LIEUTENANT  BROOKE.  CRUISE 
OF  THE  DOLPHIN  IN  1853,  AND  OF  THE  ARCTIC  IN  1856.  THE  BRAVE 
LIEUTENANT  BERRYMAN.  SOUNDINGS  BY  COMMANDER  DAYMAN,  OF 
THE  BRITISH  NAVY,  IN  THE  CYCLOPS  IN  1857.  THE  BED  OF  THE 
ATLANTIC.  DEPTHS  IN  DIFFERENT  PARTS.  THE  TELEGRAPHIC  PLA- 
TEAU. SUBMARINE  MOUNTAIN  OFF  THE  COAST  OF  IRELAND. 


Hark !   do  you  hear  the  sea  ? 

— KING  LEAR. 

a  landsman,  born  far  away  among  the 
mountains,  comes  down  to  the  coast,  and  stands  for 
the  first  time  on  the  shore  of  the  sea,  it  excites  in 
him  a  feeling  of  awe  and  wonder,  not  unmingled  with 
terror.  There  it  lies,  a  level  surface,  with  nothing  that 
lifts  up  its  head  like  a  peak  of  his  native  hills.  And 
yet  it  is  so  vast,  stretching  away  to  the  horizon,  and 
all  over  the  sides  of  the  round  world ;  with  its  tides 
and  currents  that  sweep  from  the  equator  to  the  pole  ; 
with  its  unknown  depths  and  its  ceaseless  motion ;  that 
it  is  to  him  the  highest  emblem  of  majesty  and  of 
power — a  not  unworthy  symbol  of  God  himself. 


64         HISTORY  OP  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

In  proportion  to  its  mystery  is  the  terror  which 
hangs  over  it.  A  vague  dread  always  surrounds  the 
unknown.  And  what  so  unknown  as  the  deep,  un- 
fathomable sea  ?  For  thousands  of  years  the  sails  of 
ships,  like  winged  birds,  have  skimmed  over  it,  yet 
it  has  remained  the  one  thing  in  nature  beyond  alike 
man's  knowledge  and  his  power. 

Man  marks  the  earth  with  ruin, 
His  control  stops  with  the  shore. 

And  the  little  that  has  been  known  of  the  ocean 
has  been  chiefly  of  its  surface,  of  the  winds  that  blow 
over  it,  and  the  waves  that  are  lifted  up  on  high. 
"We  knew  somewhat  of  its  tides  and  currents  as  ob- 
served in  different  parts  of  the  earth.  We  saw  off 
our  coast  the  great  Gulf  Stream — that  steady  flow  of 
waters  so  mighty  and  mysterious,  which,  issuing  out 
of  the  tropical  regions,  poured  its  warm  current,  sixty 
miles  broad,  right  through  the  cold  waters  of  the 
North- Atlantic  ;  and  sweeping  round,  sent  the  airs  of 
a  softer  climate  over  all  the  countries  of  Western  Eu- 
rope. Old  voyagers  told  us  of  the  trade- winds  that 
blew  across  the  Pacific,  and  of  terrible  monsoons  in 
China  and  Indian  seas.  But  all  that  did  not  reveal 
what  was  going  on  a  hundred  fathoms  below  the  sur- 
face. These  old  sailors  had  marvellous  tales  of  In- 
dian pearl-divers,  who,  holding  their  breath,  plunged 


HISTORY   OF   THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.          65 

to  the  depth  of  a  few  hundred  feet ;  but  they  came  up 
half-dead,  with  but  little  to  tell  except  of  the  frightful 
monsters  of  the  deep.  The  diving-bell  was  let  down 
over  sunken  wrecks,  but  the  clivers  came  up  only  with 
tales  of  riches  and  ruin,  of  gold  and  gems  and  dead 
men's  bones  that  lie  mingled  together  on  the  deep  sea 
floor.  Was  the  bottom  of  the  sea  all  like  this  ?  Was 
it  a  vast  realm  of  death,  the  sepulchre  of  the  world  ? 
No  man  could  tell  us.  Poets  might  sing  of  the  caves 
of  ocean,  but  no  eye  of  science  had  yet  penetrated 
those  awful  depths,  which  the  storms  never  reach. 

It  is  indeed  marvellous  how  little  was  known,  up  to 
a  very  recent  date,  of  the  true  character  of  the  ocean. 
Navigators  had  often  tried  to  find  out  how  deep  it 
was.  When  lying  becalmed  on  a  tranquil  sea,  they 
had  amused  themselves  by  letting  down  a  long  line, 
weighted  with  a  cannon-ball,  to  see  if  they  could 
touch  bottom.  But  the  results  were  very  uncertain. 
Sometimes  the  line  ran  out  for  miles  and  miles,  but 
whether  it  was  all  the  while  descending,  or  was  swayed 
hither  and  thither  by  mighty  under-currents,  could  not 
be  known. 

But  this  true  character  of  the  ocean  it  was  neces- 
sary to  determine,  before  it  could  be  possible  to  pass 
the  gulf  of  the  Atlantic.  What  was  there  on  the 
bottom  of  the  sea  ?  for  it  was  there  the  cable  was  to 
find  its  resting-place.  Was  that  ocean-bed  a  wide 


bb          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH 

level  plain,  or  had  it  been  heaved  up  by  volcanic 
forces  into  a  hundred  mountain-peaks,  with  many  a 
gorge  and  precipice  between  ?  Such  was  the  charac- 
ter of  a  part  of  the  basin  of  the  ocean.  Here  and 
there,  all  over  the  globe,  are  islands,  like  the  Peak  of 
TenerhTe,  thrown  up  in  some  fierce  bursting  of  the 
crust  of  our  planet,  that  shoot  up  in  tremendous  cliffs 
from  the  sea.  Who  shall  say  that  the  same  cliffs  do 
not  shoot  down  below  the  waves  a  thousand  fathoms 
deep  ?  And  might  there  not  be  such  islands,  which 
did  not  show  their  heads  above  the  surface,  lying  in 
the  track  between  Europe  and  America ;  or  perchance 
a  succession  of  mountain  ranges,  over  which  the  cable 
would  have  to  be  stretched,  and  where  hanging  from 
the  heights  it  would  swing  with  the  tide,  till  at  last  it 
snapped  and  fell  into  the  abyss  below  ?  Such  at  least 
were  possible  dangers  to  be  encountered ;  and  it  was 
not  safe  to  advance  a  step  till  first  the  basin  of  the 
North- Atlantic  was  explored. 

The  progress  of  invention,  so  rapid  on  land,  at 
length  found  a  way  of  penetrating  the  sea,  and  even 
of  turning  up  its  bottom  to  the  gaze  of  men.  To 
measure  the  depth  with  something  like  mathemati- 
cal accuracy,  an  instrument  was  introduced  known 
among  nautical  men  as  Massey's  Indicator,  the  meth- 
od of  which  is  very  clearly  explained  in  an  article 
which  appeared  in  one  of  the  New- York  papers,  (the 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          67 

Times,)  on  the  deep-sea  soundings  made  for  the  At- 
lantic Telegraph : 

"The  old  system  is  with  a  small  line,  marked  at 
distances  of  one  hundred  fathoms,  and  with  a  weight 
of  thirty  or  fifty  pounds,  the  depth  being  told  by 
the  length  of  line  run  out.  This  is,  of  course,  the 
most  natural  apparatus  that  suggests  itself,  and  has 
been  in  use  from  the  earliest  ages.  Experience  has 
given  directions  for  its  use,  avoiding  some  of  the 
grosser  causes  of  error  from  driftage  and  other  causes. 
Yet  its  success  in  immense  ocean  depths  is  problemati- 
cal, and  a  problem  decided  in  the  negative  by  many 
of  the  first  scientific  authorities  at  home  and  abroad. 
In  the  mechanical  improvements  of  the  last  half-cen- 
tury substitutes  for  this  simple  but  rather  uncertain 
method  began  to  be  devised.  It  was  proposed  to  as- 
certain the  depth  by  the  amount  of  pressure,  or  by 
explosions  under  water,  with  other  equally  impracti- 
cable plans.  At  last  was  noticed  the  perfect  regular- 
ity of  the  movements  of  a  spirally-shaped  wheel,  on 
being  drawn  through  the  water.  Experiments  proved 
that  this  regularity,  when  unaffected  by  other  causes, 
could  be  relied  on  with  perfect  accuracy,  and  that  an 
arrangement  of  cog-wheels  would  register  its  revolu- 
tions with  mathematical  precision.  Yery  soon  it  came 
in  use  as  a  ship's  log.  So  perfect  was  their  precision, 
that  they  were  even  introduced  in  scientific  surveys. 


08         HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

Base  lines,  where  the  nicest  accuracy  is  required,  were 
run  with  them,  and  we  have  the  highest  authority  of 
the  Royal  Navy  for  believing  that  they  never  failed. 
At  this  point  it  was  proposed  to  apply  them  in  a  per- 
pendicular as  well  as  in  a  horizontal  motion  through 
the  water,  Massey's  apparatus  promising  to  solve  those 
problems  of  submarine  geography  left  unsolved  by  the 
old  method  of  obtaining  depth  with  a  simple  line  and 
sinker,  and  this  more  especially  as  some  causes  of  error, 
considerable  on  the  surface,  disappear  in  the  still  water 
below." 

To  make  our  knowledge  of  the  sea  complete,  one 
thing  more  was  wanting — a  method  not  only  of  reach- 
ing the  bottom,  but  of  laying  hold  of  it,  and  bringing 
it  up  to  the  light  of  day.  This  was  now  to  be  supplied. 

It  is  to  the  inventive  genius  of  a  lieutenant  of  the 
United  States  Navy,  Mr.  J.  M.  Brooke,  that  the  world 
owes  the  means  of  finding  out  what  is  at  the  bottom 
of  the  sea.  This  is  by  a  very  simple  contrivance, 
by  which  the  heavy  weight,  used  to  sink  the  measur- 
ing line,  is  detached  as  soon  as  it  strikes  bottom,  leaving 
the  line  free  so  that  it  can  be  drawn  up  lightly  and 
quickly  to  the  surface  without  danger  of  breaking. 
Below  the  weight,  and  driven  by  it  into  the  ooze,  is  a 
rod,  in  which  is  an  open  valve,  that  now  closes  with 
a  spring,  by  which  it  catches  a  cupful  of  the  soil, 
which  is  thus  brought  up  to  the  surface,  to  be  placed 


BROOKE'S   DEEP    SEA   SOUNDING    APPARATUS. 

A  shows  the  instrument  ready  for  sounding.  It  is  very  sim- 
ple, consisting  only  of  a  cannon-ball,  pierced  with  an  iron  rod, 
and  held  in  its  place  by  slings.  As  the  ball  goes  down  swiftly, 
it  drives  the  rod  into  the  bottom  like  the  point  of  a  spear,  when 
an  opening  at  the  end  catches  the  ooze  in  its  iron  lips.  The 
same  instant  (see  B,)  the  slings  loosen,  the  ball  drops  off,  and 
the  naked  rod,  C,  with  its  "  bite  "  is  drawn  up  to  the  surface. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.          69 

under  the  microscope,  and  be  subjected  to  the  sharp 
eye  of  science.  "With  this  simple  instrument  the  skil- 
ful seaman  explores  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  by  liter- 
ally feeling  over  it.  With  a  long  line  he  dives  to  the 
very  lowest  depths,  while  the  clasp  at  the  end  of  it,  is 
like  the  tip  of  the  elephant's  trunk,  serving  as  a  deli- 
cate finger  with  which  he  picks  up  sand  and  shells 
that  lie  strewn  on  the  floor  of  the  deep.  What  im- 
portant conclusions  are  derived  from  this  inspection  of 
the  bottom  of  the  sea,  is  well  stated  by  Lieutenant 
Maury  in  the  letter  already  quoted. 

We  can  but  regard  it  as  a  Providential  event, 
preparing  the  way  for  the  great  achievement  which 
was  now  to  be  undertaken,  that  a  partial  survey  of  the 
Atlantic  had  been  made  the  very  year  before  this 
enterprise  was  begun,  in  1853.  Lieutenant  Berry- 
man  was  the  first  who  applied  this  new  method  of 
taking  deep-sea  soundings  to  that  part  of  the  Atlantic 
lying  between  Newfoundland  and  Ireland,  with  results 
most  surprising  and  satisfactory.  But  to  remove  all 
doubt  it  seemed  desirable  to  have  a  fresh  survey.  To 
obtain  this,  Mr.  Field  went  to  Washington  and  applied 
to  the  Government  in  behalf  of  the  Company  for  a  sec 
ond  expedition. 

The  request  was  granted,  and  the  Arctic,  under  com- 
mand of  the  same  gallant  Lieutenant  Berryman,  was 
assigned  to  this  service.  He  sailed  from  New- York 


70          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

on  the  eighteenth  of  July,  1856,  and  the  very  next 
day  Mr.  Field  left  on  the  Baltic  for  England,  to  or- 
ganize the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company.  The  Arctic 
proceeded  to  St.  John's,  and  thence  with  a  clear  eye 
and  a  steady  hand,  this  true  sailor  went  "  sounding  on 
his  dim  and  perilous  way"  across  the  deep.  In  about 
three  weeks  he  made  the  coast  of  Ireland,  having  car- 
ried his  survey  along  the  great  circle  arc,  which  the 
telegraph  was  to  follow  as  the  nearest  path  from  the 
old  world  to  the  new.  The  result  fully  confirmed  his 
belief  of  the  existence  of  a  great  plateau  underneath 
the  ocean,  extending  all  the  way  from  one  hemisphere 
to  the  other. 

I  cannot  take  leave  of  the  name  of  this  gallant  offi- 
cer, who  rendered  such  services  to  science  and  to  his 
country,  without  a  word  of  tribute  to  his  memory. 
Lieutenant  Berryman  is  in  his  grave.  He  died  in  the 
navy  of  his  country,  and  from  his  ardent  devotion  to 
her  service.  When,  five  years  ago,  tlie  great  civil 
war  which  has  just  ended,  broke  out,  he  was  placed  in 
a  position  most  painful  to  a  man  of  large  heart,  who 
loved  at  once  his  country  and  the  state  in  which  he 
was  born.  He  was  a  Southerner,  a  native  of  Win- 
chester, Ya.,  and  was  assigned  to  service  in  the  South. 
At  the  first  attack  on  Southern  forts  and  arsenals,  he 
was  in  command  of  the  Wyandotte,  in  the  harbor  of 
Pensacola,  in  Florida.  His  officers,  who  were  nearly 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          71 

all  Southerners,  were  in  secret  sympathy  with  the  re- 
bellion. Thus  all  the  influences  around  him,  both  on 
ship  and  on  shore,  were  such  as  might  have  seduced  a 
weaker  man  from  his  loyalty.  But,  to  his  honor,  he 
never  hesitated  for  a  moment.  He  stood  firm  and 
loyal  to  his  flag.  Not  knowing  whom  to  trust,  he 
had  to  keep  watch  day  and  night  against  surprise  and 
treachery.  It  was  the  testimony  of  Lieutenant  Slein- 
mer,  then  in  command  of  Fort  Pickens,  that  but  for 
the  ceaseless  exertions  of  Lieutenant  Berryman  not 
only  the  ship  but  the  fort  would  have  been  lost.  But 
this  victory  for  his  country  he  paid  for  with  his  life. 
His  constant  exertions  brought  on  a  brain  fever,  of 
which  he  died.  His  wife,  also  a  native  of  Winchester, 
when  the  war  came  near  her  early  home,  removed  to 
Baltimore,  saying  that  "  she  would  not  live  under  any 
other  flag  than  that  under  which  her  husband  had 
lived  and  died." 

It  was  to  the  honor  of  the  American  navy,  to  have 
led  the  way  in  these  deep-sea  soundings.  But  after 
this  second  voyage  of  exploration,  Mr.  Field  applied  to 
the  British  Admiralty,  "to  make  what  further  sound- 
ings might  be  necessary  between  Ireland  and  New- 
foundland, and  to  verify  those  made  by  Lieutenant 
Berryman."  It  was  in  response  to  this  application 
that  the  Government  sent  out  the  following  year 
a  vessel  to  make  still  another  survey  of  the  same 
ocean-path.  This  was  the  steamer  Cyclops,  which 


72  HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

was  placed  under  Lieutenant  Commander  Joseph 
Dayman,  of  the  British  navy,  an  officer  who  had 
been  with  Captain  Sir  James  Ross  when  he  made 
his  deep-sea  soundings  in  the  South- Atlantic  in  1840, 
where  he  attained  a  depth  of  twenty-six  hundred 
and  sixty-seven  fathoms ;  and  who  by  his  intelli- 
gence and  zeal,  was  admirably  fitted  for  the  work. 
To  speak  now  of  this  third  survey,  is  anticipating  in 
time.  But  it  will  serve  the  purpose  of  unity  and 
clearness  in  the  narrative,  to  include  all  these  deep-sea 
soundings  in  one  chapter.  lie  was  directed  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  harbor  of  Valentia  in  Ireland,  and  thence 
to  follow,  as  nearly  as  possible,  along  the  arc  of  a  great 
circle  to  Newfoundland.  "  The  soundings  for  the  first 
few  miles  from  the  coast  should  be  frequent,  decreas- 
ing as  you  draw  off  shore." 

These  orders  were  thoroughly  executed.  Every 
pains  was  taken  to  make  the  information  obtained  pre- 
cise and  exact.  Whenever  a  sounding  was  to  be 
taken,  the  ship  was  hove  to,  and  the  bow  kept  as 
nearly  as  possible  in  the  same  spot,  so  that  the  line 
might  descend  perpendicularly.  This  was  repeated 
every  few  miles  until  they  had  got  far  out  into  the 
Atlantic,  where  the  general  equality  of  the  depths 
rendered  it  necessary  to  cast  the  line  only  every  twen- 
ty or  thirty  miles.  Thus  the  survey  was  made  com- 
plete, and  the  results  obtained  were  of  the  greatest 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGKAPH.          73 

value  in  determining  the  physical  geography  of  the 
sea. 

The  conclusions  of  Commander  Dayman  confirmed 
in  general  those  of  Lieutenant  Berryman,  though  in 
comparing  the  charts  prepared  by  the  two,  we  observe 
some  differences  which  ought  to  be  noticed.  Both 
agree  as.  to  the  general  character  of  the  bottom  of  the 
ocean  along  this  latitude — that  it  is  a  vast  plain,  like 
the  steppes  of  Siberia.  Yet  on  the  chart  of  Dayman 
the  floor  of  the  sea  seems  not  such  a  dead  level  as  on 
that  of  Berryman.  (This  may  be  partly  owing  to  a 
difference  of  route,  as  Dayman  passed  a  little  to  the 
north  of  the  track  of  Berryman.)  There  are  more  un- 
equal depths,  which  in  the  small  space  of  a  chart,  ap- 
pear like  hills  and  valleys.  Yet  when  we  consider 
the  wide  distances  passed  over,  these  inequalities  seem 
not  greater  than  the  undulations  on  our  Western 
prairies.  "  This  space,"  says  Dayman,  "  has  been 
named  by  Maury  the  telegraphic  plateau,  and  although 
by  multiplying  the  soundings  upon  it,  we  have  depths 
ranging  from  fourteen  hundred  and  fifty  to  twenty- 
four  hundred  fathoms,  these  are  comparatively  small 
inequalities  in  its  surface,  and  present  no  new  difficul- 
ty to  the  project  of  laying  the  cable  across  the  ocean. 
Their  importance  vanishes  when  the  extent  of  the 
space  over  which  they  are  distributed  (thirty  degrees 
of  longitude)  is  considered.'' 
4 


74         HISTOKY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

According  to  Berryman  and  Dayman  both,  the 
ocean  in  its  deepest  part  on  this  plateau,  measured  but 
a  little  over  two  thousand  fathoms,  or  twelve  thousand 
feet — a  depth  of  not  much  over  two  miles.  This  is 
not  great,  compared  with  the  enormous  depths  in  other 
parts  of  the  Atlantic  ;*  yet  that  it  is  something,  may  be 
realized  from  the  fact  that  if  the  Peak  of  Teneriffe  were 
here  "  cast  into  the  sea,"  it  would  sink  out  of  sight, 
island,  mountain  and  all,  while  even  the  lofty  head  of 
Mont  Blanc  would  be  lifted  but  a  few  hundred  feet 
above  the  waves. 

The  only  exception  to  this  uniform  depth,  lies  about 
two  hundred  miles  off  the  coast  of  Ireland,  where 
within  a  space  of  about  a  dozen  miles,  the  depth  sank 
from  five  hundred  and  fifty  to  seventeen  hundred  and 

*  "  The  ocean  bed  of  the  North- Atlantic  is  a  curious  study ;  in  somo 
parts  furrowed  by  currents,  in  others  presenting  banks,  the  accumula- 
tions perhaps  of  the  debris  of  tljese  ocean  rivers  during  countless  ages, 
To  the  west,  the  Gulf  Stream  pours  along  in  a  bed  from  one  mile  to  a 
mile  and  a  half  in  depth.  To  the  east  of  this,  and  south  of  the  Great 
Banks,  is  a  basin,  eight  or  ten  degrees  square,  where  the  bottom  attains 
a  greater  depression  than  perhaps  the  highest  peaks  of  the  Andes  or 
Himalaya — six  miles  of  line  have  failed  to  reach  the  bottom.  Taking  a 
profile  of  the  Atlantic  basin  in  our  own  latitude,  we  find  a  far  greater 
depression  than  any  mountain  elevation  on  our  own  continent.  Four 
or  five  Alleghanies  would  have  to  be  piled  on  each  other,  and  on  them 
added  Fremont's  Peak,  before  their  point  would  show  itself  above  the 
surface.  Between  the  Azores  and  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus  this  de- 
to  about  three  miles." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.         75 

fifty  fathoms !  "  In  14°  48'  west,"  says  Dayman,  "  we 
liave  five  hundred  and  fifty  fathoms  rock,  and  in  15°  6' 
west  we  have  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty  fathoms  ooze. 
This  is  the  greatest  dip  in  the  whole  ocean."  "In 
little  more  than  ten  miles  of  distance  a  change  of 
depth  occurs,  amounting  to  seventy -two  hundred  feet." 
This  seems  indeed  a  tremendous  plunge,  especially  off 
from  the  hard  rock  into  the  slime  of  the  sea. 

The  same  sudden  declivity  was  noticed  by  Berry- 
man,  and  has  been  observed  in  the  several  attempts  to 
lay  the  cable.  Thus  in  the  second  expedition  of  1858, 
as  the  Agamemnon  was  approaching  the  coast  of  Ire- 
land, we  read  in  the  report  of  her  voyage :  "About 
five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  steep  submarine  moun- 
tain which  divides  the  telegraphic  plateau  from  the 
Irish  coast,  was  reached;  and  the  sudden  shallowing 
of  the  water  had  a  very  marked  effect  on  the  cable, 
causing  the  strain  on,  and  the  speed  of  it,  to  lessen 
every  minute.  A  great  deal  of  slack  was  paid  out  to 
allow  for  inequalities  which  might  exist,  though  undis- 
covered by  the  sounding-line." 

This  submarine  mountain  was  then  regarded  as  the 
chief  point  of  danger  in  the  whole  bed  of  the  Atlantic, 
and  as  the  principal  source  of  anxiety  in  laying  a 
cable  across  the  ocean.  Yet,  after  all,  a  descent  or 
ascent  of  less  than  a  mile  and  a  half  in  ten  miles,  is 
not  an  impassable  grade.  More  recent  soundings  re- 


76         HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

duce  this  still  farther.  Captain  Hoskins,  K.  N".,  has 
since  made  a  second  survey,  and  with  results  much 
more  favorable.  The  side  of  the  mountain,  it  is  now 
said,  is  not  very  much  steeper  than  Holborn  Hill  in 
London,  or  Murray  Hill  in  New- York.*  But  perhaps 
the  best  answer  to  fears  on  this  point,  is  the  fact  that  in 
1857, 185S,  and  1865,  the  cable  passed  over  it  without 
difficulty.  In  1857  the  Niagara  was  a  hundred  miles 
farther  to  sea,  when  the  cable  broke.  In  1865  the 
strain  was  not  increased  more  than  a  hundred  pounds. 

*  The  following  is  from  a  recent  article  in  the  London  Times : 
"  The  dangerous  part  of  this  course  has  hitherto  been  supposed  to 
be  the  sudden  dip  or  bank  which  occurs  off  the  west  coast  of  Ireland, 
and  where  the  water  was  supposed  to  deepen  in  the  course  of  a  few 
miles  from  about  three  hundred  fathoms  to  nearly  two  thousand.  Such 
a  rapid  descent  has  naturally  been  regarded  with  alarm  by  telegraphic 
engineers,  and  this  alarm  has  led  to  a  most  careful  sounding  survey  of 
the  whole  supposed  bank  by  Captain  Dayman,  acting  under  the  in- 
structions of  the  Admiralty.  The  result  of  this  shows  that  the  sup- 
posed precipitous  bank,  or  submarine  cliff,  is  a  gradual  slope  of  nearly 
sixty  miles.  Over  this  long  slope  the  difference  between  its  greatest 
height  and  greatest  depth  is  only  eighty-seven  hundred  and  sixty  feet ; 
so  that  the  average  incline  is,  in  round  numbers,  about  one  hundred 
and  forty-five  feet  per  mile.  A  good  gradient  on  a  railway  is  now  gen- 
erally considered  to  be  one  in  one  hundred  feet,  or  about  fifty-three  in  a 
mile ;  so  that  the  incline  on  this  supposed  bank  is  only  about  three 
times  that  of  an  ordinary  railway.  In  fact,  as  far  as  soundings  can 
demonstrate  any  thing,  there  are  few  slopes  in  the  bed  of  the  Atlantic 
as  steep  as  that  of  Holborn  Hill.  In  no  part  is  the  bottom  rocky,  and 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  miles,  which  are  shingly,  only  ooze,  mud, 
or  sand  is  to  be  found." 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          77 

Next  to  the  depth  of  the  ocean,  it  was  important  to 
ascertain  the  nature  of  its  bottom.  What  was  it — a 
vast  bed  of  rock,  the  iron-bound  crust  of  the  globe, 
hardened  by  internal  fires,  and  which,  bending  as  a 
vault  over  the  still  glowing  centre  of  the  earth,  bore 
up  on  its  mighty  arches  the  weight  of  all  the  oceans  ? 
or  was  it  mere  sand  like  the  sea-shore  ?  or  ooze  as  soft 
as  that  of  a  mill-pond  ?  The  pressure  of  a  column  of 
water  two  miles  high  would  be  equal  to  that  of  four 
hundred  atmospheres.  Would  not  this  weight  alone 
be  enough  to  crush  any  substance  that  could  reach 
that  tremendous  depth  ?  These  were  questions  which 
remained  to  be  answered,  but  on  which  depended  the 
possibility  of  laying  a  cable  at  the  bottom  of  the  At- 
lantic. 

By  the  ingenious  contrivance  of  Lieutenant  Brooke, 
the  problem  was  solved,  for  we  got  hold  of  fragments 
of  the  under-coating  of  the  sea ;  and  to  our  amazement, 
instead  of  finding  the  ocean  bound  round  with  thick 
ribs  of  granite,  its  inner  lining  was  found  to  be  soft  as 
a  silken  vest.  The  soil  brought  up  from  the  bottom 
was  not  even  of  the  hardness  of  sand  or  gravel.  It 
was  mere  ooze,  like  that  of  our  rivers,  and  was  as  soft 
as  the  moss  that  clings  to  old,  damp  stones  on  the 
river's  brink.  At  first  it  was  thought  by  Lieutenant 
Berryman  to  be  common  clay,  but  being  carefully  pre- 
served, and  subjected  to  a  powerful  microscope,  it 


78          HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH. 

was  found  to  be  composed  of  myriads  of  shells^  too 
small  to  be  discovered  by  the  naked  eye  I 

This  fact  alone  was  a  revelation.  What  a  story  did 
it  tell  of  the  forms  of  animated  existence  which  fill  the 
sea.  "  The  ocean  teems  with  life,  we  know.  Of  the 
four  elements  of  the  old  philosophers — fire,  earth,  air, 
and  water — perhaps  the  sea  most  of  all  abounds  with 
living  creatures.  The  space  occupied  on  the  surface 
of  our  planet  by  the  different  families  of  animals  and 
their  remains  are  inversely  as  the  size  of  the  indi- 
vidual. The  smaller  the  animal,  the  greater  the  space 
occupied  by  his  remains.  Take  the  elephant  and  his 
remains,  or  a  microscopic  animal  and  his,  and  com- 
pare them.  The  contrast,  as  to  space  occupied,  is  as 
striking  as  that  of  the  coral  reef  or  island  with  the 
dimensions  of  the  whale.  The  graveyard  that  would 
hold  the  corallines  is  larger  than  the  graveyard  that 
would  hold  the  elephants."* 

These  little  creatures,  whose  remains  were  thus 
found  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  probably  did  not 
live  there,  for  there  all  is  dark,  and  shells,  like  flowers, 
need  the  light  and  warmth  of  the  all-reviving  sun.  It 
was  their  sepulchre,  but  not  their  dwelling  place.  Pro- 
bably they  lived  near  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  and 
after  their  short  life,  sunk  to  the  tranquil  waters  below. 
What  a  work  of  life  and  death  had  been  going  on  for 

*  Maury's  Physical  Geography  of  the  Sea. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          79 

ages  in  the  depths  of  the  sea  1  Myriads  upon  myriads, 
ever  since  the  morning  of  creation,  had  been  falling 
like  snow-flakes,  till  their  remains  literally  covered  the 
bottom  of  the  deep. 

Equally  significant  was  the  fact  that  these  shells 
were  unbroken.  Not  only  were  they  there,  but  pre- 
served in  a  perfect  form.  Organisms  the  most  minute 
and  delicate,  fragile  as  drooping  flowers,  had  yet  sunk 
and  slept  uninjured.  The  same  power  which  watches 
over  the  fall  of  a  sparrow  had  kept  these  frail  and 
tender  things,  and  after  their  brief  existence,  had  laid 
them  gently  on  the  bosom  of  the  mighty  mother  for 
their  eternal  rest. 

The  bearing  of  this  discovery  on  the  problem  of  a 
submarine  telegraph  was  obvious.  For  it  too  was 
to  lie  on  the  ocean-bed,  beside  and  among  these  relics 
that  had  so  long  been  drifting  down  upon  the  watery 
plain.  And  if  these  tiny  shells  slept  there  unharmed, 
surely  an  iron  chord  might  rest  there  in  safety.  There 
were  no  swift  currents  down  there  ;  no  rushing  waves 
agitated  that  sunless  sea.  There  the  waters  moved 
not ;  and  there  might  rest  the  great  nerve  that  was 
to  pass  from  continent  to  continent.  And  so  far  as 
injury  from  the  surrounding  elements  was  concerned, 
there  it  might  remain,  whispering  the  thoughts  of 
successive  generations  of  men,  till  the  sea  should 
give  up  its  dead. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

MR.  FIELD  GOES  TO  ENGLAND  TO  ORGANIZE  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH 
COMPANY.  CONFERS  WITH  JOHN  W.  BRETT.  SEEKS  COUNSEL  OP 
ENGINEERS  AND  ELECTRICIANS.  RESULT  OP  EXPERIMENTS.  APPLIES 
TO  THE  GOVERNMENT  FOR  AID.  LETTER  FROM  THE  TREASURY.  EN- 
TERS INTO  AN  AGREEMENT  WITH  MESSRS.  BRETT,  BRIGHT,  AND 

WHITEHOUSE  TO  FORM  A  COMPANY.  THE  ENTERPRISE  BROUGHT  BE- 
FORE THE  BRITISH  PDBLIC.  CAPITAL  RAISED  AND  COMPANY  ORGAN- 
IZED. CHOICE  OP  A  BOARD  OP  DIRECTORS.  CONTRACT  FOR  THE 
CABLE. 

UP  to  this  time  the  Telegraph,  which  was  destined 
to  pass  the  sea,  had  been  purely  an  American  enter- 
prise. It  had  been  begun,  and  for  over  two  years  had 
been  carried  on,  wholly  by  American  capital.  Save 
the  few  shares  held  by  Mr.  Brett,  which  are  hardly 
enough  to  be  counted  an  exception,  not  a  dollar  had 
been  raised  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Indeed 
we  might  add,  not  a  dollar  had  been  raised  on  this, 
outside  of  the  little  circle  in  which  the  scheme  had  its 
origin.  No  stock  or  bonds  were  put  upon  the  mar- 
ket ;  no  man  was  asked  for  a  subscription.  If  they 
wanted  money,  they  drew  their  checks  for  it.  At  one 
time,  indeed,  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars 
of  bonds  were  issued,  but  they  were  at  once  taken 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGKAPH.          81 

wholly  by  themselves.  It  is  but  just  that  those  who 
thus  single-handed  bore  the  burden,  and  who  risked 
a  total  loss  in  the  event  of  failure,  should  have  the 
honor  in  the  event  of  success. 

But,  as  the  time  was  now  come  when  the  long-med- 
itated attempt  was  to  be  made  to  carry  the  Telegraph 
across  the  ocean,  it  was  fitting  that  Great  Britain, 
whose  shores  it  was  to  touch,  should  join  in  the 
work.  Accordingly,  in  the  summer  of  1856,  after  fin- 
ishing all  that  he  could  do  in  America,  Mr.  Field  sail- 
ed with  his  family  for  England.  The  very  day  before 
he  embarked,  he  had  the  pleasure  to  see  his  friend, 
Lieutenant  Berryman,  off  on  his  second  voyage  to 
make  soundings  across  the  Atlantic. 

In  London  he  sought  at  once  Mr.  John  "W.  Brett, 
with  whom  in  his  two  former  visits  to  England  he  had 
already  discussed  the  project  of  a  Telegraph  across 
the  ocean,  and  found  him  prompt  with  his  counsel 
and  cooperation.  As  we  go  on  with  this  history,  it  is 
a  melancholy  satisfaction  to  refer  to  one  and  another 
worker  in  this  enterprise,  who  lived  not  to  see  its 
last  and  greatest  triumph.  Mr.  Brett,  like  Berryman, 
is  dead.  But  he  did  not  go  to  his  grave  till  after  a 
life  of  usefulness  and  honor.  He  was  one  of  the  men 
of  the  new  era — of  the  school  of  Stephenson  and  Bru- 
nei— who  believed  in  the  marvellous  achievements  yet 
to  be  wrought  by  human  invention,  turning  to  the 


82          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

service  of  man  the  wonders  of  scientific  discovery. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  to  see  the  boundless  possibil- 
ities of  the  telegraph,  and  to  believe  that  what  had 
passed  over  the  land  might  pass  under  the  sea.  He 
was  the  first  to  lay  a  cable  across  the  British  Channel, 
and  thus  to  bring  into  instantaneous  communication 
the  two  great  capitals  of  Europe  —  an  achievement 
which,  though  small  compared  with  what  has  since 
been  done,  was  then  so  marvellous,  that  the  intelli- 
gence of  its  success  was  received  with  surprise  and  in- 
credulity. Many  could  not  and  would  not  believe  it. 
Even  after  messages  were  received  in  London  from 
Paris,  there  were  those  who  declared  that  it  was  an 
imposition  on  the  public,  with  as  much  obstinacy  as 
some  still  persist  that  a  message  never  passed  over  the 
Atlantic  Telegraph  ! 

This  friendship  of  Mr.  Brett — both  to  the  enterprise 
and  to  himself  personally — remained  to  the  last.  In 
every  voyage  to  England  Mr.  Field  found — however 
others  doubted  or  despaired — that  Mr.  Brett  was  al- 
ways the  same — full  of  hope  and  confidence.  Only 
two  years  ago,  when  they  met  in  London,  he  was  un- 
shaken in  faith,  and  urgent  to  have  the  great  enterprise 
renewed.  That  he  was  not  to  see.  But,  though  he  has 
passed  away,  his  work  remains ;  and  now  that  two 
hemispheres  are  rejoicing  over  a  fresh  triumph  of  the 
Atlantic  Telegraph,  they  should  remember  his  eminent 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          83 

services.  And  therefore  do  we  pause  at  his  name — to 
lay  our  humble  tribute  on  the  grave  of  this  true-heart- 
ed Englishman. 

To  Mr.  Brett,  therefore,  he  went  first  to  consult  in 
regard  to  his  great  project  of  a  telegraph  across  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  This  was  a  part  of  the  design  em- 
braced in  the  original  organization  of  the  New-York, 
Newfoundland,  and  London  Telegraph  Company  ; 
and  when  Mr.  Field  went  to  England,  he  was  empow- 
ered to  receive  subscriptions  to  that  Company,  so  as 
to  enlarge  its  capital,  and  thus  include  in  one  corpora- 
tion the  whole  line  from  New- York  to  London  ;  or  to 
organize  a  new  company,  which  should  lay  a  cable 
across  the  Atlantic,  and  there  join  the  Newfoundland 
line. 

But  before  an  enterprise  so  vast  and  so  new  could 
be  commended  to  the  commercial  public  of  Great 
Britain,  there  were  many  details  to  be  settled.  The 
mechanical  and  scientific  problems  already  referred  to, 
whether  a  cable  could  be  laid  across  the  ocean ;  and 
if  so,  whether  it  could  be  worked,  were  to  be  consider- 
ed anew.  The  opinions  of  Lieutenant  Maury  and  of 
Professor  Morse  were  published  in  England,  and  ar- 
rested the  attention  of  scientific  men.  But  John  Bull 
is  slow  of  belief,  and  asked  for  more  evidence.  The 
thing  was  too  vast  to  be  undertaken  rashly.  As  yet 
there  was  no  experience  to  decide  the  possibility  of  a 


84:         HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

telegraph  across  the  ocean.  The  longest  line  which  had 
been  laid  was  t/iree  hundred  miles.  This  caution,  which 
is  a  national  trait  of  Englishmen,  will  not  be  regarded 
as  a  fault  by  those  who  consider  that  in  proportion  aa 
they  are  slow  to  embark  in  any  new  enterprise,  are 
they  resolute  and  determined  in  carrying  it  out. 

To  resolve  these  difficult  problems,  Mr.  Field 
sought  counsel  of  the  highest  engineering  authorities 
of  Great  Britain,  and  of  her  most  eminent  scientific 
men.  To  their  honor,  all  showed  the  deepest  interest 
in  the  project,  and  gave  it  freely  the  benefit  of  their 
knowledge. 

First,  as  to  the  possibility  of  laying  a  cable  in  the 
deep  sea,  Mr.  Field  had  witnessed  one  attempt  of  the 
kind — that  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  the  year  be- 
fore— an  attempt  which  had  failed.  His  experience, 
therefore,  was  not  very  encouraging.  If  they  found 
so  much  difficulty  in  laying  a  cable  seventy  miles 
long,  how  could  they  hope  to  lay  one  of  two  thousand 
miles  across  the  stormy  Atlantic  ? 

This  was  a  question  for  the  Engineers.  To  solve  the 
problem,  required  experiments  almost  without  number. 
It  was  now  that  the  most  important  services  were  ren- 
dered by  Glass,  Elliot  &  Co.,  of  London,  a  firm  which 
had  begun  within  a  few  years  the  manufacture  of  sea- 
cables,  and  which  was  to  write  its  name  in  all  the  wa- 
ters of  the  world.  Aided  by  the  skill  of  their  admir- 
able engineer,  Mr.  Canning,  they  now  manufactured 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          85 

cables  almost  without  end,  applying  to  them  every  pos- 
sible test.  At  the  same  time,  Mr.  Field  took  counsel 
of  Robert  Stephenson  and  George  Parker  Bidder,  both 
of  whom  manifested  a  deep  interest  in  the  success  of 
the  enterprise. 

Not  less  cordial  was  Mr.  Brunei,  a  name  known  in 
both  hemispheres.  From  the  beginning  he  showed  the 
warmest  interest  in  the  undertaking,  and  made  many 
suggestions  in  regard  to  the  form  of  the  cable,  and  the 
manner  in  which  it  should  be  laid.  He  was  then 
building  the  Great  Eastern ;  and  one  day  he  took  Mr. 
Field  down  to  Black  wall  to  see  it,  and  said,  pointing 
to  the  monstrous  hull  which  was  rising  on  the  banks 
of  the  Thames  :  "  There  is  the  ship  to  lay  the  Atlantic 
cable !"  Little  did  he  think  that  ten  years  after,  that 
ship  would  be  employed  in  this  service ;  and  in  this 
final  victory  over  the  sea,  would  redeem  all  the  mis- 
fortunes of  her  earlier  career. 

Among  the  difficulties,  partly  mechanical  and  partly 
scientific,  to  be  encountered,  was  that  of  finding  a  per- 
fect insulator.  "Without  insulation,  telegraphic  com- 
munication by  electricity  is  impossible.  On  land, 
where  wires  are  carried  on  the  tops  of  poles,  the  air 
itself  is  a  sufficient  insulator.  A  few  glass  rings  at 
the  points  where  the  wire  passes  through  the  iron 
staples  by  which  it  is  supported,  and  the  insulation  is 
complete.  But  in  the  sea  the  electricity  would  be  in- 
stantly dissipated,  unless  some  material  could  be  found 


86         HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

which  should  insulate  a  conductor  sunk  in  water,  aa 
completely  as  if  it  were  raised  in  air.  But  what  could 
thus  inclose  the  lightning,  and  keep  it  fast  while  fly- 
ing from  one  continent  to  the  other  ? 

Here  again  it  seemed  as  if  Divine  wisdom  had  an- 
ticipated the  coming  of  this  great  enterprise,  and  pro- 
vided in  the  realm  of  nature  every  material  needed 
for  its  success.  It  was  one  of  the  remarkable,  or  rath- 
er should  we  say,  Providential  discoveries^  which  pre- 
pared the  way  for  this  final  achievement,  that  only  a 
few  years  before  there  should  be  found,  in  the  forests 
of  the  Malayan  archipelago,  a  substance  till  then  un- 
known to  the  world,  but  which  answered  completely 
this  new  demand  of  science.  This  was  Gutta-Percha, 
a  substance  impenetrable  by  water,  and  which  is  at 
the  same  time  a  bad  conductor  of  electricity  ;  so  that 
it  forms  at  once  a  perfect  protection  and  insulation  to 
a  telegraph  passing  through  the  sea.  In  the  experi- 
ments that  were  made  to  test  the  value  of  this  mate- 
rial in  the  grander  use  to  which  it  was  to  be  applied, 
no  man  rendered  heartier  service,  or  showed  a  more 
enlightened  zeal,  than  Mr.  Samuel  Statham,  of  the 
London  Gutta-Percha  Works — a  name  to  be  always 
gratefully  remembered  in  the  early  history  of  the  At- 
lantic Telegraph. 

The  mechanical  difficulties  removed,  and  the  insula- 
tion provided,  there  remained  yet  the  great  scientific 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH,          87 

problem  :  Could  a  message  be  sent  two  thousand  miles 
under  the  Atlantic  ?  The  ingenuity  of  man  might  de- 
vise some  method  of  laying  a  cable  across  the  sea,  but 
of  what  use  were  it,  if  the  lightning  should  shrink 
from  the  dark  abyss? 

It  was  in  prosecuting  inquiries  to  resolve  this  pro- 
blem, that  Mr.  Field  became  acquainted  with  two  gen- 
tlemen who  were  to  be  soon  after  associated  with  him 
in.  the  organization  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Compa- 
ny. These  were  Mr.  Charles  T.  Bright,  afterward 
knighted  for  his  part  in  laying  the  Atlantic  cable  in 
1858,  and  Dr.  Edward  0.  W.  Whitehouse,  both  favor- 
ably known  in  England,  the  former  as  an  engineer, 
and  the  latter  for  his  many  experiments  in  electro- 
magnetism,  as  applied  to  the  business  of  telegraph- 
ing. He  had  invented  an  instrument  by  which  to  as- 
certain and  register  the  velocity  of  electric  currents 
through  submarine  cables.  Both  these  gentlemen 
were  full  of  the  ardor  of  science,  and  entered  on  this 
new  project  with  the  zeal  which  the  prospect  of  so 
great  a  triumph  might  inspire.  With  them  was  now 
to  be  associated  our  distinguished  countryman,  Pro- 
fessor Morse.  It  was  a  most  fortunate  circumstance 
for  the  new  enterprise  that  he  was  at  this  time  in  Lon- 
don, and  gave  his  invaluable  aid  to  the  experiments 
which  were  made  to  determine  the  possibility  of  tele- 
graphic communication  at  great  distances  under  the 


88         HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

sea.     The  result  of  his  experiments  he  communicates 
in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Field : 

"LONDON,  FIVE  O'CLOCK  A.M., 
"October  3,  1856. 

"Mr  DEAR  SIR:  As  the  electrician  of  the  New- 
York,  Newfoundland,  and  London  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, it  is  with  the  highest  gratification  that  I  have  to 
apprise  you  of  the  result  of  our  experiments  of  this 
morning  upon  a  single  continuous  conductor  of  more 
than  two  thousand  miles  in  extent,  a  distance  you  will 
perceive  sufficient  to  cross  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  from 
Newfoundland  to  Ireland. 

"  The  admirable  arrangements  made  at  the  Magnet- 
ic Telegraph  Office  in  Old  Broad  street,  for  connecting 
ten  subterranean  gutta-percha  insulated  conductors,  of 
over  two  hundred  miles  each,  so  as  to  give  one  con- 
tinuous length  of  more  than  two  thousand  miles  dur- 
ing the  hours  of  the  night,  when  the  telegraph  is  not 
commercially  employed,  furnished  us  the  means  of 
conclusively  settling,  by  actual  experiment,  the  ques- 
tion of  the  practicability  as  well  as  the  practicality*  of 
telegraphing  through  our  proposed  Atlantic  cable. 

*  Professor  Morse  is  fond  of  the  distinction  between  the  words  prac- 
tical and  practicable.  A  thing  may  be  practicable,  that  is,  possible  of 
accomplishment,  when  it  is  not  a  practical  enterprise,  that  is,  one  which 
can  be  worked  to  advantage.  He  here  argues  that  the  Atlantic  Tele- 
graph is  both  practicable  or  possible,  and  at  the  same  time  a  wise,  prac» 
tical  undertaking. 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          89 

"  This  result  bad  been  thrown  into  some  doubt  by 
the  discovery,  more  than  two  years  since,  of  certain 
phenomena  upon  subterranean  and  submarine  con- 
ductors, and  had  attracted  the  attention  of  electricians, 
particularly  of  that  most  eminent  philosopher,  Profes- 
sor Faraday,  and  that  clear-sighted  investigator  of 
electrical  phenomena,  Dr.  "Whitehouse ;  and  one  of 
these  phenomena,  to  wit,  the  perceptible  retardation 
of  the  electric  current,  threatened  to  perplex  our  op- 
erations, and  required  careful  investigation  before  we 
could  pronounce  with  certainty  the  commercial  practi- 
cability of  the  Ocean  Telegraph. 

"  I  am  most  happy  to  inform  you  that,  as  a  crown- 
ing result  of  a  long  series  of  experimental  investiga- 
tion and  inductive  reasoning  upon  this  subject,  the  ex- 
periments under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Whitehouse  and 
Mr.  Bright,  which.  I  witnessed  this  morning — in  which 
the  induction  coils  and  receiving  magnets,  as  modified 
by  these  gentlemen,  were  made  to  actuate  one  of  my 
recording  instruments  —  have  most  satisfactorily  re- 
solved all  doubts  of  the  practicability  as  well  as  prac- 
ticality of  operating  the  telegraph  from  Newfoundland 
to  Ireland. 

"  Although  we  telegraphed  signals  at  the  rate  of 
two  hundred  and  ten,  two  hundred  and  forty- one,  and, 
according  to  the  count  at  one  time,  even  of  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  per  minute  upon  my  telegraphic 


90          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH. 

register,  (which  speed,  you  will  perceive,  is  at  a  rate 
commercially  advantageous,)  these  results  were  accom- 
plished notwithstanding  many  disadvantages  in  our 
arrangements  of  a  temporary  and  local  character — dis- 
advantages which  will  not  occur  in  the  use  of  our  sub- 
marine cable. 

"Having  passed  the  whole  night  with  my  active 
and  agreeable  collaborators,  Dr.  Whitehouse  and  Mr. 
Bright,  without  sleep,  you  will  excuse  the  hurried  and 
brief  character  of  this  note,  which  I  could  not  refrain 
from  sending  you,  since  our  experiments  this  morning 
settle  the  scientific  and  commercial  points  of  our  en- 
terprise satisfactorily. 

"  With  respect  and  esteem,  your  obedient  servant, 
"SAMUEL  F.  B.  MOUSE. 

"To  CYRUS  W.  FIELD,  Esq.,  Vice-President  of  the  New-York,  New- 
foundland^ and  London  Telegraph  Company,  37  Jermyn  street,  St. 
James's  street." 

The  following,  written  a  week  later,  confirms  the 
impressions  of  the  former : 

"  LONDON,  October  10,  1856. 

"MY  DEAR  SIR:  After  having  given  the  deepest 
consideration  to  the  subject  of  our  successful  experi 
ments  the  other  night,  when  we  signalled  clearly  and 
rapidly  through  an  unbroken  circuit  of  subterranean 
conducting  wire,  over  two  thousand  miles  in  length,  I 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.         91 

sit  down  to  give  you  the  result  of  my  reflections  and 
calculations. 

"  There  can  be  no  question  but  that,  with  a  cable 
containing  a  single  conducting  wire,  of  a  size  not  ex- 
ceeding that  through  which  we  worked,  and  with 
equal  insulation,  it  would  be  easy  to  telegraph  from 
Ireland  to  Newfoundland  at  a  speed  of  at  least  from 
eight  to  ten  words  per  minute ;  nay,  more  :  the  vary- 
ing rates  of  speed  at  which  we  worked,  depending  as 
they  did  upon  differences  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
apparatus  employed,  do  of  themselves  prove  that  even 
a  higher  rate  than  this  is  attainable.  Take  it,  how- 
ever, at  ten  words  in  the  minute,  and  allowing  ten 
words  for  name  and  address,  we  can  safely  calculate 
upon  the  transmission  of  a  twenty- word  message  in 
three  minutes ; 

"  Twenty  such  messages  in  the  hour  ; 

"Four  hundred  and  eighty  in  the  twenty-four  hours, 
or  fourteen  thousand  four  hundred  words  per  day. 

"  Such  are  the  capabilities  of  a  single  wire  cable 
fairly  and  moderately  computed. 

"  It  is,  however,  evident  to  me,  that  by  improve- 
ments in  the  arrangement  of  the  signals  themselves, 
aided  by  the  adoption  of  a  code  or  system  constructed 
upon  the  principles  of  the  best  nautical  code,  as  sug- 
gested by  Dr.  "Whitehouse,  we  may  at  least  double 
the  speed  in  the  transmission  of  our  messages. 


92          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH. 

"  As  to  the  structure  of  the  cable  itself,  the  last  spe- 
cimen which  I  examined  with  you  seemed  to  combine 
so  admirably  the  necessary  qualities  of  strength,  flex- 
ibility, and  lightness,  with  perfect  insulation,  that  I 
can  no  longer  have  any  misgivings  about  the  ease  and 
safety  with  which  it  will  be  submerged. 

"  In  one  word,  the  doubts  are  resolved,  the  difficul- 
ties overcome,  success  is  within  our  reach,  and  the 
great  feat  of  the  century  must  shortly  be  accom- 
plished. 

"  I  would  urge  you,  if  the  manufacture  can  be  com- 
pleted within  the  time,  (and  all  things  are  possible 
now,)  to  press  forward  the  good  work,  and  not  to  lose 
the  chance  of  laying  it  during  the  ensuing  summer. 

"  Before  the  close  of  the  present  month,  I  hope  to 
be  again  landed  safely  on  the  other  side  of  the  water, 
and  I  full  well  know,  that  on  all  hands  the  inquiries 
of  most  interest  with  which  I  shall  be  met,  will  be 
about  the  Ocean  Telegraph. 

"  Much  as  I  have  enjoyed  my  European  trip  this 
year,  it  would  enhance  the  gratification  which  I  have 
derived  from  it  more  than  I  can  describe  to  you,  if  on 
my  return  to  America,  I  could  be  the  first  bearer  to 
my  friends  of  the  welcome  intelligence  that  the  great 
work  had  been  begun,  by  the  commencement  of  the 
manufacture  of  the  cable  to  connect  Ireland  with  the 
line  of  the  New -York,  Newfoundland,  and  London 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          93 

Telegraph  Company,  now  so  successfully  completed  to 
St.  Joan's. 

"  Eespectfully,  your  dbedient  servant, 

"SAMUEL  F.  B.  MORSE. 

"  To  CYRUS  W.  FIELD,  Esq.,  Vice-President,  etc. 

These  experiments  and  others  removed  the  doubts 
of  scientific  men.  Professor  Faraday,  in  spite  of  the 
law  of  the  retardation  of  electricity  on  long  circuits, 
which  it  was  said  he  had  discovered,  and  which  would 
render  it  impossible  to  work  a  line  of  such  length  as 
from  Ireland  to  Newfoundland,  now  declared  his  full 
conviction  that  it  was  within  the  bounds  of  possibility. 
The  passage  of  electricity  might  not  be  absolutely  in- 
stantaneous, or  have  the  swiftness  of  the  solar  beam 
in  its  flight  from  the  morning  sun,  yet  it  would  be 
rapid  enough  for  all  practical  purposes.  When  Mr. 
Field  asked  him  how  long  it  would  take  for  the  elec- 
tricity to  pass  from  London  to  New- York,  he  answer- 
ed :  "  Possibly  one  second  I" 

Being  thus  fortified  by  the  highest  scientific  and 
engineering  authorities,  the  projectors  of  an  ocean  tele- 
graph were  now  ready  to  bring  it  before  the  British 
public,  and  to  see  what  support  could  be  found  for  the 
undertaking  from  the  English  Government  and  the 
English  people. 

Mr.  Field  first  addressed  himself  to  the  Government. 
Without  waiting  for  the  Company  to  be  fully  organ- 


94          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ized,  with  true  American  eagerness  and  impatience,  lie 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  Admiralty  asking  for  a  fresh  sur- 
vey of  the  route  to  be  traversed,  and  for  the  aid  of 
Government  ships  to  lay  the  cable.  He  also  addressed 
a  letter  to  Lord  Clarendon,  stating  the  large  design 
which  they  had  conceived,  and  asking  for  it  the  aid 
which  was  due  to  what  concerned  the  honor  and  in- 
terest of  England.  The  reply  was  prompt  and  cour- 
teous, inviting  him  to  an  interview  for  the  purpose  of 
a  fuller  explanation.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Field,  with 
Professor  Morse,  called  upon  him  at  the  Foreign  Of- 
fice, and  spent  an  hour  in  conversation  on  the  pro- 
posed undertaking.  Lord  Clarendon  showed  great 
interest,  and  made  many  inquiries.  He  was  a  little 
startled  at  the  magnitude  of  the  scheme,  and  the  con- 
fident tone  of  the  projectors,  and  asked  pleasantly  : 
"  But,  suppose  you  don't  succeed  ?  Suppose  you 
make  the  attempt  and  fail — your  cable  is  lost  in  the 
sea — then  what  will  you  do  ?"  "  Charge  it  to  profit 
and  loss,  and  go  to  work  to  lay  another,"  was  the 
quick  answer  of  Mr.  Field,  which  amused  him  as  a 
truly  American  reply.  In  conclusion,  he  desired  him 
to  put  his  request  in  writing,  and,  without  committing 
the  Government,  encouraged  him  to  hope  that  Britain 
would  do  all  that  might  justly  be  expected  in  aid  of 
this  great  international  work.  How  nobly  this  pro- 
mise was  kept,  time  will  show. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.         95 

While  engaged  in  these  negotiations,  Mr.  Field  took 
his  family  to  Paris,  and  there  met  with  a  great  loss  in 
the  sudden  death  of  a  favorite  sister,  who  had  accom- 
panied them  abroad.  Full  of  the  sorrow  of  this  event, 
and  unfitted  for  business  of  any  kind,  he  returned  to 
London  to  find  an  invitation  to  go  into  the  country 
and  spend  a  few  days  with  Mr.  James  Wilson,  then 
Secretary  to  the  Treasury,  and  a  man  of  great  influ- 
ence in  the  British  Government,  at  his  residence  near 
Bath ;  there  to  discuss  quietly  and  at  length  the  pro- 
posed aid  of  the  Government  to  the  Atlantic  telegraph. 
Though  he  had  but  little  spirit  to  go  among  strangers, 
he  felt  it  his  duty  not  to  miss  such  an  opportunity  to 
advance  the  cause  he  had  so  much  at  heart.  Accord- 
ingly he  went ;  and  the  result  of  this  visit  was  the 
following  letter,  received  a  few  days  later  : 

"  TREASURY  CHAMBERS,  Nov.  20,  1856. 
"  SIR:  Having  laid  before  the  Lords  Commissioners 
of  her  Majesty's  Treasury  your  letter  of  the  13th  ul- 
timo, addressed  to  the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  requesting, 
on  behalf  of  the  New- York,  Newfoundland,  and  Lon- 
don Telegraph  Company,  certain  privileges  and  pro- 
tection in  regard  to  the  line  of  telegraph  which  it  is 
proposed  to  establish  between  Newfoundland  and  Ire- 
land, I  am  directed  by  their  lordships  to  acquaint  you 
that  they  are  prepared  to  enter  into  a  contract  with 


96          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH. 

the  said  Telegraph  Company,  based  upon  the  follow- 
ing conditions,  namely : 

"1.  It  is  understood  that  the  capital  required  to  lay 
down  the  line  will  be  (£350;000)  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  pounds. 

"  2.  Her  Majesty's  Government  engage  to  furnish 
the  aid  of  ships  to  take  what  soundings  may  still  be 
considered  needful,  or  to  verify  those  already  taken, 
and  favorably  to  consider  any  request  that  may  be 
made  to  furnish  aid  by  their  vessels  in  laying  down 
the  cable. 

"  3.  The  British  Government,  from  the  time  of  the 
completion  of  the  line,  and  so  long  as  it  shall  continue 
in  working  order,  undertakes  to  pay  at  -the  rate  of 
(£14,000)  fourteen  thousand  pounds  a  year,  being  at 
the  -rate  of  four  per  cent  on  the  assumed  capital,  as  a 
fixed  remuneration  for  the  work  done  on  behalf  of  the 
Government,  in  the  conveyance  outward  and  home- 
ward of  their  messages.  This  payment  to  continue 
until  the  net  profits  of  the  Company  are  equal  to  a 
dividend  of  six  pounds  per  cent,  when  the  payment 
shall  be  reduced  to  (£10,000)  ten  thousand  pounds  a 
year,  for  a  period  of  twenty-five  years. 

"  It  is,  however,  understood  that  if  the  Government 
messages  in  any  year  shall,  at  the  usual  tariff-rate 
charged  to  the  public,  amount  to  a  larger  sum,  such 
additional  payment  shall  be  made  as  is  equivalent 
thereto. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.          97 

"  4.  That  the  British  Government  shall  have  a  pri- 
ority in  the  conveyance  of  their  messages  over  all 
others,  subject  to  the  exception  only  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  in  the  event  of  their  enter- 
ing into  an  arrangement  with  the  Telegraph  Company 
similar  in  principle  to  that  of  the  British  Government, 
in  which  case  the  messages  of  the  two  Governments 
shall  have  priority  in  the  order  in  which  they  arrive 
at  the  stations. 

"  5.  That  the  tariff  of  charges  shall  be  fixed  with 
the  consent  of  the  Treasury,  and  shall  not  be  increased, 
without  such  consent  being  obtained,  as  long  as  this 
contract  lasts. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  JAMES  WILSON. 

"  CYRUS  W.  FIELD,  Esq.,  37  Jermyn  street." 

"With  this  encouragement  and  promise  of  aid,  the 
projectors  of  a  telegraph  across  the  ocean  now  went 
forward  to  organize  a  company  to  carry  out  their  de- 
sign. Mr.  Field,  on  arriving  in  England,  had  entered 
into  an  agreement  with  Mr.  Brett  to  join  their  efforts 
for  this  purpose.  "With  them  were  afterward  united 
two  others — Sir  Charles  Bright,  as  engineer,  and  Dr. 
Whitehouse,  as  electrician.  These  four  gentlemen  had 
entered  into  a  formal  agreement  to  use  their  exertions 
to  form  a  new  company,  to  be  called  The  Atlantic 
5 


98          HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

Telegraph  Company,  the  object  of  which  should  be 
"  to  continue  the  existing  line  of  the  New- York,  New- 
foundland, and  London  Telegraph  Company  to  Ire- 
land, by  making  or  causing  to  be  made  a  submarine 
telegraph  cable  for  the  Atlantic." 

As  they  were  now  ready  to  introduce  the  enterprise 
to  the  British  public,  Mr.  Field  issued  a  circular  in 
the  name  of  the  Newfoundland  Company,  and  as  its 
Vice-President,  setting  forth  the  great  importance  of 
telegraphic  communication  between  the  two  hemi- 
spheres. 

The  next  step  was  to  raise  the  capital.  After  the 
most  careful  estimates,  it  was  thought  that  a  cable 
could  be  made  and  laid  across  the  Atlantic  for 
£350,000.  This  was  a  large  sum  to  ask  from  a 
public  slow  to  move,  and  that  lends  a  dull  ear  to 
all  new  schemes.  But  armed  with  facts  and  figures, 
with  maps  and  estimates,  with  the  opinions  of  en- 
gineers and  scientific  men,  they  went  to  work,  not 
only  in  London,  but  in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom. 
Mr.  Field,  in  company  with  Mr.  Brett,  made  a  visit 
to  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  to  address  their  Cham- 
bers of  Commerce.  I  have  now  before  me  the  pa- 
pers of  those  cities,  with  reports  of  the  meetings 
held  and  the  speeches  made,  which  show  the  vigor 
with  which  they  pushed  their  enterprise.  This  energy 
was  rewarded  with  success.  The  result  justified  their 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH.  99 

confidence.  In  a  few  weeks  the  whole  capital  was 
subscribed.  It  had  been  divided  into  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  shares  of  a  thousand  pounds  each.  Of 
these,  a  hundred  and  one  were  taken  in  London, 
eighty-six  in  Liverpool,  thirty-seven  in  Glasgow,  twen- 
ty-eight in  Manchester,  and  a  few  in  other  parts  of 
England.  The  grandeur  of  the  design  attracted  pub- 
lic attention,  and  some  subscribed  solely  from  a  noble 
wish  to  take  part  in  such  a  work.  Among  these  were 
Mr.  Thackeray  and  Lady  Byron.  Mr.  Field  sub- 
scribed £100,000,  and  Mr.  Brett  £25,000.  But  when 
the  books  were  closed,  it  was  found  that  they  had 
more  money  subscribed  than  they  required,  so  that  in 
the  final  division  of  shares,  there  were  allotted  to  Mr. 
Field  eighty-eight,  and  to  Mr.  Brett  twelve.  NT. 
Field's  interest  was  thus  one  fourth  of  the  whole  capi- 
tal of  the  Company. 

In  taking  so  large  a  share,  it  was  not  his  intention 
to  carry  this  heavy  load  alone.  It  was  too  large  a 
proportion  for  one  man.  But  he  took  it  for  his  coun- 
trymen. He  thought  one  fourth  of  the  stock  should 
be  held  in  this  country,  and  did  not  doubt,  from  the 
eagerness  with  which  three  fourths  had  been  taken  up 
in  England,  that  the  remainder  would  be  at  once  sub- 
scribed in  America.  Had  he  been  able,  on  his  return, 
to  attend  to  his  own  interests  in  the  matter,  this  ex- 
pectation might  have  been  realized ;  but,  as  we  shall 


100       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

see,  hardly  did  he  set  foot  in  New- York,  before  he 
was  obliged  to  hurry  off  to  Newfoundland  on  the 
business  of  the  Company,  and  when  he  returned  the 
interest  had  subsided,  so  that  it  required  very  great  ex- 
ertions, continued  through  many  months,  to  dispose  of 
twenty-seven  shares.  Thus  he  was  by  far  the  largest 
stockholder  in  England  or  America — his  interest  be- 
ing over  seven  times  that  of  Mr.  Brett,  who  was  the 
largest  next  to  himself — and  being  more  than  double 
the  amount  held  by  all  the  other  American  share- 
holders put  together.  This  was  at  least  giving  pretty 
substantial  proof  of  his  own  faith  in  the  undertaking. 
But  some  may  imagine  .that  after  all  this  burden 
was  not  so  great  as  it  seemed.  In  many  stock  com- 
panies an  evil  custom  obtains  of  assigning  to  the  pro- 
jectors a  certain  portion  of  the  stock  as  a  bonus  for 
getting  up  the  company,  which  amount  appears  among 
the  subscriptions  to  swell  the  capital.  It  is  indeed 
subscribed,  but  not  paid.  So  some  have  asked  whe- 
ther this  large  subscription  of  Mr.  Field  was  not  in 
part  at  least  merely  nominal?  To  this  we  answer, 
that  a  consideration  was  granted  to  Mr.  Field  and  his 
associates  for  their  services  in  getting  up  the  Company, 
and  for  their  exclusive  rights,  but  this  was  a  contingent 
interest  in  the  profits  of  the  enterprise,  to  be  allowed 
only  after  the  cable  was  laid.  So  that  the  whole  amount 
here  subscribed  was  a  bona-fide  subscription,  and  paid 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELtGEAPH.' ' '  '  101' 

in  solid  English  gold.  We  have  now  before  us  the  re- 
ceipts of  the  bankers  of  the  Company  for  the  whole 
amount,  eighty-eight  thousand  pounds  sterling. 

The  capital  being  thus  raised,  it  only  remained  to 
complete  the  organization  of  the  Company  by  the 
choice  of  a  Board  of  Directors,  and  to  make  a  contract 
for  the  cable.  The  Company  was  organized  in  Decem- 
ber, 1856,  by  the  choice  of  Directors  chiefly  from  the 
leading  bankers  and  merchants  of  London  and  Liver- 
pool. The  list  included  such  honored  names  as  Sam- 
uel Gurney,  T.  H.  Brooking,  John  W.  Brett,  and  T. 
A.  Hankey,  of  London ;  Sir  William  Brown,  Henry 
Harrison,  Edward  Johnston,  Eobert  Crosbie,  George 
Maxwell,  and  C.  W.  H.  Pickering,  of  Liverpool ;  John 
Fender  and  James  Dugdale,  of  Manchester ;  and  Pro- 
fessor William  Thomson,  LL.D.,  of  Glasgow,  one  of 
the  most  eminent  men  in  this  department  of  Science 
in  Europe.  Associated  with  these  English  Directors 
were  two  of  our  own  countrymen,  Mr.  George  Pea- 
body  and  Mr.  C.  M.  Lampson,  who,  residing  abroad 
for  more  than  a  third  of  a  century,  have  done  much  in 
tlje  commercial  capital  of  the  world  to  support  the 
honor  of  the  American  name.  Mr.  Peabody's  firm 
subscribed  £10,000,  and  Mr.  Lampson  £2000.  The 
latter  gave  more  time  than  any  other  Director  in  Lon- 
don, except  Mr.  Brooking,  the  second  Vice-Chairman, 
who,  however,  retired  from  the  Company  after  the 


102      ^IIlStOfeY  OF' THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH. 

first  failure  in  1858,  when  Mr.  Lampson  was  chosen 
to  fill  his  place.  The  zeal  and  energy  of  this  gentle- 
man deserve  high  praise.  Occupied  with  very  large 
business  concerns  of  his  own,  he  yet  found  time  to  be 
present  at  almost  every  meeting.  But  to  do  full  just- 
ice, we  should  need  to  speak  of  the  services  of  all  the 
Directors.  The  whole  Board  was  animated  with  the 
same  spirit.  All  gave  their  services  without  compen- 
sation, and  their  courage  bore  up  under  repeated  dis- 
asters. Never  did  a  nobler  body  of  men  have  a  great 
enterprise  committed  to  their  trust. 

It  was  the  good  fortune  of  the  Company  to  have, 
from  the  beginning,  in  the  important  position  of  Secre- 
tary a  gentleman  admirably  qualified  for  the  post. 
This  was  Mr.  George  Saward — a  name  familiar  to  all 
who  have  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  telegraph,  in 
England  or  America,  since  he  has  been  the  organ  of 
communication  with  the  press  and  the  public;  and 
with  whom  none  ever  had  occasion  to  transact  busi- 
ness without  recognizing  his  rare  intelligence  and 
courtesy. 

The  Company  being  thus  in  working  order,  pro- 
ceeded to  form  a  contract  for  the  manufacture  of  a 
cable  to  be  laid  across  the  Atlantic.  For  many  months 
the  proper  form  and  size  of  the  cable  had  been  the 
subject  of  constant  experiments.  The  conditions  were: 
to  combine  the  greatest  degree  of  strength  with  light- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        103 

ness  and  flexibility.  It  must  be  strong,  or  it  would 
snap  in  the  process  of  laying.  Yet  it  would  not  do  to 
have  it  too  large,  for  it  would  be  unmanageable.  Mr. 
Brett  had  already  lost  a  cable  in  the  Mediterranean 
chiefly  from  its  bulk.  Its  size  and  stiffness  made  it 
hard  to  unwind  it,  while  its  enormous  weight,  when 
once  it  broke  loose,  caused  it  to  run  out  with  fearful 
velocity,  till  it  was  soon  lost  in  the  sea.  It  was  only 
the  year  before  that  this  accident  had  occurred.  It 
was  in  September,  1855,  in  laying  the  cable  from  Sar- 
dinia to  Algeria.  All  was  going  on  well,  until  sud- 
denly, "  about  two  miles,  weighing  sixteen  tons,  flew 
out  with  the  greatest  violence  in  four  or  five  minutes, 
flying  round  even  when  the  drums  were  brought  to  a 
dead  stop,  creating  the  greatest  alarm  for  the  safety  of 
the  men  in  the  hold  and  for  the  vessel."  This  was 
partly  owing  to  the  character  of  the  submarine  surface 
over  which  they  were  passing.  The  bottom  of  the 
Mediterranean  is  volcanic,  and  is  broken  up  into  moun- 
tains and  valleys.  The  cable,  doubtless,  had  just 
passed  over  some  Alpine  height,  and  was  now  de- 
scending into  some  awful  depth  below ;  but  chiefly  it 
was  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  great  size  and  bulk  of 
the  cable  made  it  unmanageable.  This  was  a  warn 
ing  to  the  Atlantic  Company.  The  point  to  be 
aimed  at  was  to  combine  the  flexibility  of  a  com- 
mon ship's  rope  with  the  tenacity  of  iron.  These  con- 


104:       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ditions  were  thought  to  be  united  in  the  form  that  was 
adopted.*    A  contract  was  at  once  made  for  the  manu- 

*  FORM  AND  STRUCTURE  OP  THE  CABLE. — On  his  return  to  America, 
Mr.  Field  published  a  letter,  in  answer  to  many  inquiries  addressed  to 
him,  in  which  he  says  : 

"  No  particular  connected  with  this  great  project  has  been  the  sub- 
ject of  so  much  comment  through  the  press  as  the  form  and  structure 
of  the  telegraph  cable.  It  may  be  well  believed  that  the  Directors  have 
not  decided  upon  a  matter  so  all-important  to  success,  without  availing 
themselves  of  the  most  eminent  talent  and  experience  which  could  be 
commanded.  The  practical  history  of  submarine  telegraphs  dates  from 
the  successful  submersion  of  the  cable  between  Dover  and  Calais  in 
1851,  and  advantage  has  been  taken  of  whatever  instruction  this  his- 
tory could  furnish  or  suggest.  Of  the  submarine  cables  heretofore  laid 
down,  without  enumerating  others,  it  may  be  interesting  to  mention 
that  the  one  between  Dover  and  Calais  weighs  six  tons  to  the  mile ; 
that  between  Spezzia  and  Corsica,  eight  tons  to  the  mile  ;  the  wire  laid 
from  Varna  to  Balaklava,  and  used  during  the  late  war,  less  than  three 
hundred  pounds  to  the  mile  ;  while  the  weight  of  the  cable  decided  on 
for  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  is  between  nineteen  hundred  pounds  and  one 
ton  to  the  mile.  This  cable,  to  use  the  words  of  Dr.  Whitehouse,  '  is 
the  result  of  many  months'  thought,  experiment,  and  trial.  Hundreds  of 
specimens  have  been  made,  comprising  every  variety  of  form,  size,  and 
structure,  and  most  severely  tested  as  to  their  powers  and  capabilities  ; 
and  the  result  has  been  the  adoption  of  this,  which  we  know  to  possess 
all  the  properties  required,  and  these  in  a  far  higher  degree  than  any 
cable  that  has  yet  been  laid.  Its  flexibility  is  such  as  to  make  it  as 
manageable  as  a  small  line,  and  its  strength  such  that  it  will  bear,  in 
water,  over  six  miles  of  its  own  weight  suspended  vertically.'  The  con- 
ducting medium  consists  not  of  one  single  straight  copper-wire,  but  of 
seven  wires  of  copper  of  the  best  quality,  twisted  round  each  other 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        105 

facture  of  the  cable,  one  half  being  given  to  Messrs. 
Glass,  Elliot  &  Co.,  of  London,  and  the  other  to  Messrs. 
E.  S.  Newall  &  Co.,  of  Liverpool.  The  whole  was  to 
be  completed  by  the  first  of  June,  ready  to  be  sub- 
merged in  the  sea.  The  company  was  organized  on 
the  ninth  of  December,  and  the  very  next  day  Mr. 
Field  sailed  for  America,  reaching  New-York  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  December,  after  an  absence  of  more 
than  five  months. 

spirally,  and  capable  of  undergoing  great  tension  without  injury.  This 
conductor  is  then  enveloped  in  three  separate  coverings  of  gutta- 
percha,  of  the  best  quality,  forming  the  core  of  the  cable,  round  which 
tarred  hemp  is  wrapped,  and  over  this,  the  outside  covering,  consisting 
of  eighteen  strands  of  the  best  quality  of  iron-wire ;  each  strand  com- 
posed of  seven  distinct  wires,  twisted  spirally,  in  the  most  approved 
manner,  by  machinery  specially  adapted  to  the  purpose.  The  attempt 
to  insulate  more  than  one  conducting-wire  or  medium  would  not  only 
have  increased  the  chances  of  failure  of  all  of  them,  but  would  have 
necessitated  the  adoption  of  a  proportionably  heavier  and  more  cum- 
brous cable.  The  tensile  power  of  the  outer  or  wire  covering  of  the 
cable,  being  very  much  less  than  that  of  the  conductor  within  it,  the 
latter  is  consequently  protected  from  any  such  strain  as  can  possibly 
rupture  it  or  endanger  its  insulation  without  an  entire  fracture  of  the 
cable." 

5* 


CHAPTER    VII. 

MR.  FIELD  RETURNS  TO  AMERICA.  STARTS  IMMEDIATELY  FOR  NEWFOUND- 
LAND.  RETURNS  AND  GOES  TO  WASHINGTON,  TO  SEEK  AID  FROM  THE 
AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT.  OPPOSITION  IN  CONGRESS.  THE  CABLE 

AMONG   THE   POLITICIANS.      DEBATE   IN   THE   SENATE.      SUPPORT  OF  MR. 

SEWARD  AND  MR.  RUSK.     BILL  PASSED. 

WHEN  Mr.  Field  reached  home  from  abroad,  he 
hoped  for  a  brief  respite.  He  had  had  a  pretty  hard 
campaign  daring  the  summer  and  autumn  in  England, 
and  needed  at  least  a  few  weeks  of  rest ;  but  even  that 
was  denied  him.  He  landed  in  New- York  on  Christ- 
mas Day,  and  was  not  allowed  even  to  spend  the  New 
Year  with  his  family.  There  were  interests  of  the 
Company  in  Newfoundland  which  required  imme- 
diate attention,  and  it  was  important  that  one  of  the 
Directors  should  go  there  without  delay.  As  usual, 
it  devolved  upon  him.  He  left  at  once  for  Boston, 
where  he  took  the  steamer  to  Halifax,  and  thence  to 
St.  John's.  Such  a  voyage  may  be  very  agreeable  in 
summer,  but  in  mid-winter  it  is  not  a  pleasant  thing 
to  face  the  storms  of  those  northern  latitudes.  The 
passage  was  unusually  tempestuous.  At  St.  John's  he 
broke  down,  and  was  put  under  the  care  of  a  physi- 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        107 

cian.  But  he  did  not  stop  to  think  of  himself.  The 
work  for  which  he  came  was  done ;  and  though  the 
physician  declared  it  a  great  risk  to  leave  his  bed,  he 
took  the  steamer  on  her  return,  and  was  again  in  New- 
York  after  a  month's  absence — a  month  of  hardship, 
of  exposure,  and  of  suifering,  such  as  he  had  long  oc- 
casion to  remember. 

The  mention  of  this  voyage  came  up  a  year  after- 
ward at  a  meeting  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company 
in  London,  when  a  resolution  was  offered,  tendering 
Mr.  Field  a  vote  of  thanks  for  "  the  great  services  he 
had  rendered  to  the  Company  by  his  untiring  zeal, 
energy,  and  devotion."  Mr.  Brooking,  the  Yice-Chair- 
man,  had  spent  a  large  part  of  his  life  in  Newfound- 
land, and  knew  the  dangers  of  that  inhospitable  coast, 
and  in  seconding  the  resolution  he  said : 

"  It  is  now  about  a  year  and  a  half  ago  since  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  my  friend 
Mr.  Field.  It  was  he  who  initiated  me  into  this  Com- 
pany, and  induced  me  to  take  an  interest  in  it  from  its 
earliest  stage.  From  that  period  to  the  present  I  have 
observed  in  Mr.  Field  the  most  determined  persever- 
ance, and  the  exercise  of  great  talent,  extraordinary 
assiduity  and  diligence,  coupled  with  an  amount  of 
fortitude  which  has  seldom  been  equalled.  I  have 
known  him  cross  the  Atlantic  in  the  depth  of  winter, 
and,  within  twenty-four  hours  after  his  arrival  in  New- 


108       HISTORY  OP  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

York,  having  ascertained  that  his  presence  was  neces- 
sary in  a  distant  British  colony,  he  has  not  hesitated 
at  once  to  direct  his  course  thitherward.  That  colony 
is  one  with  which  I  am  intimately  acquainted,  having 
resided  in  it  for  upward  of  twenty  years,  and  am  en- 
abled to  speak  to  the  hazards  and  danger  which  attend 
a  voyage  to  it  in  winter.  Mr.  Field  no  sooner  arrived 
at  New- York,  in  the  latter  part  of  December,  than  he 
got  aboard  a  steamer  for  Halifax,  and  proceeded  to  St. 
John's,  Newfoundland.  In  three  weeks  he  accom- 
plished there  a  very  great  object  for  this  Company. 
He  procured  the  passage  of  an  Act  of  the  Legislature 
which  has  given  to  our  Company  the  right  of  estab- 
lishing a  footing  on  those  shores,*  which  ere  long,  I 
hope,  will  result  in  connecting  us  with  Ireland.  That 
is  only  one  of  the  acts  which  he  has  performed  with 
a  desire  to  promote  the  interests  of  this  great  enter- 
prise," etc. 

The  very  next  day  after  his  return  from  Newfound- 
land, Mr.  Field  was  called  to  "Washington,  to  seek  the 
aid  of  his  own  Government  to  the  Atlantic  Telegraph. 
The  English  Government  had  proffered  the  most  gen- 
erous aid,  both  in  ships  to  lay  the  cable,  and  in  an 
annual  subsidy  of  £14,000.  It  was  on  every  account 
desirable  that  this  should  be  met  by  corresponding 

*  The  rights  before  conferred,  it  would  seem,  applied  only  to  the 
Newfoundland  Company. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       109 

liberality  on  the  part  of  the  American  Government. 
Before  he  left  England,  he  had  sent  home  the  letter 
received  from  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Trea- 
sury ;  and  thereupon  the  Directors  of  the  New-York, 
Newfoundland,  and  London  Telegraph  Company  had 
inclosed  a  copy  to  the  President,  with  a  letter  asking 
for  the  same  aid  in  ships,  and  in  an  annual  sum  of 
$70,000,  [equivalent  to  £14,000,]  to  be  paid  for  the 
government  messages,  the  latter  to  be  conditioned  on 
the  success  of  the  telegraph,  and  to  be  continued  only 
so  long  as  it  was  in  full  operation.  They  urged  with 
reason  that  the  English  Government  'had  acted  with 
great  liberality — not  only  toward  the  enterprise,  but 
toward  our  own  Government.  Although  both  ends 
of  the  line  were  in  the  British  possessions,  it  had 
claimed  no  exclusive  privileges,  but  had  stipulated 
for  perfect  equality  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain.  The  agreement  expressly  provided 
"that  the  British  Government  shall  have  a  priority 
in  the  conveyance  of  their  messages  over  all  others, 
subject  to  the  exception  only  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  event  of  their  entering  into  an  ar- 
rangement with  the  Telegraph  Company  similar  in 
principle  to  that  of  the  British  Government,  in  which 
case  the  messages  of  the  two  governments  shall  have 
priority  in  the  order  in  which  they  arrive  at  the 
stations." 


110       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

The  letter  to  the  President  called  attention  to  this 
generous  offer — an  offer  which  it  was  manifestly  to 
the  advantage  of  our  Government  to  accept — and 
added :  "  The  Company  will  enter  into  a  contract  with 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  on  the  sanu 
terms  and  conditions  as  it  has  made  with  the  British 
Government."  They  asked  for  the  same  recognition 
and  aid  in  the  United  States  which  they  had  received 
in  England.  This  surely  was  not  a  very  extravagant 
request.  It  was  natural  that  American  citizens  should 
think  that  in  a  work  begun  by  Americans,  and  of 
which,  if  successful,  their  country  would  reap  largely 
the  honor  and  the  advantage,  they  might  expect  the 
aid  from  their  own  Government  which  they  had  al- 
ready received  from  a  foreign  power.  It  was,  there- 
fore, not  without  a  mixture  of  surprise  and  mortifica- 
tion that  they  learned  that  the  proposal  in  Congress 
had  provoked  a  violent  opposition,  and  that  the  bill 
was  likely  to  be  defeated.  Such  was  the  attitude  of 
affairs  when  Mr.  Field  returned  from  Newfoundland, 
and  which  led  him  to  hasten  to  Washington. 

He  now  found  that  it  was  much  easier  to  deal  with 
the  English  than  with  the  American  Government. 
Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  respective  methods  of 
administration,  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  forms  of 
England  furnish  greater  facility  in  the  despatch  of 
business.  A  contract  can  be  made  by  the  Lords  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       Ill 

Treasury  without  waiting  the  action  of  Parliament. 
The  proposal  is  referred  to  two  or  three  intelligent 
officers  of  the  Government — perhaps  even  to  a  single 
individual — on  whose  report  it  takes  action  without 
further  delay.  Thus  it  is  probable  that  the  action  of 
the  British  Government  was  decided  wholly  by  the 
recommendation  of  Mr.  Wilson,  formed  after  the  visit 
of  Mr.  Field. 

But  in  our  country  we  do  things  differently.  Here 
it  would  be  considered  a  stretch  of  power  for  any  ad- 
ministration to  enter  into  a  contract  with  a  private 
company — a  contract  binding  the  Government  for  a 
period  of  twenty-five  years,  and  involving  an  annual 
appropriation  of  money — without  the  action  of  Con- 
gress. This  is  a  safeguard  against  reckless  and  extra- 
vagant expenditure,  but,  as  one  of  the  penalties  we 
pay  for  our  more  popular  form  of  government,  in 
which  every  thing  has  to  be  referred  to  the  people,  it 
involves  delay,  and  sometimes  the  defeat  of  wise  and 
important  public  measures. 

Besides — shall  we  confess  it  to  our  shame — another 
secret  influence  often  appears  in  American  legislation, 
which  has  defeated  many  an  act  demanded  by  the 
public  good — the  influence  of  the  Lobby.  This  now 
began  to  show  itself  in  opposition.  It  had  been 
whispered  in  "Washington  that  the  gentlemen  in  New- 
York  who  were  at  the  head  of  this  enterprise  were  very 


112       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 


y  and  a  measure  coming  from  such,  a  source  surely 
ought  to  be  made  to  pay  tribute  before  it  was  allowed 
to  pass.  This  was  a  new  experience.  Those  few  weeks 
in  "Washington  were  worse  than  among  the  icebergs 
off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland.  The  Atlantic  Cable 
has  had  many  a  kink  since,  but  never  did  it  seem  to 
be  entangled  in  such  a  hopeless  twist,  as  when  it  got 
among  the  politicians. 

But  it  would  be  very  unjust  to  suppose  that  there 
were  no  better  influences  in  our  Halls  of  Congress. 
There  were  then  —  as  there  have  always  been  in  our 
history  —  some  men  of  large  wisdom  and  of  a  noble 
patriotic  pride,  who  in  such  a  measure  thought  only 
of  the  good  of  their  country  and  of  the  triumph  of 
science  and  of  civilization. 

Two  years  after  —  in  August,  1858  —  when  the 
Atlantic  Telegraph  proved  at  last  a  reality,  and  the 
New  "World  was  full  of  its  fame,  Mr.  Seward,  in  a 
speech  at  Auburn,  thus  referred  to  the  ordeal  it  had 
to  pass  through  in  Congress  : 

"  The  two  great  countries  of  which  I  have  spoken, 
[England  and  America,]  are  now  ringing  with  the 
praises  of  Cyrus  W.  Field,  who  chiefly  has  brought 
this  great  enterprise  to  its  glorious  and  beneficent  con- 
summation.  You  have  never  heard  his  story  ;  let  me 
give  you  a  few  points  in  it,  -as  a  lesson  that  there  is  no 
condition  of  life  in  which  a  man,  endowed  with  native 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        113 

genius,  a  benevolent  spirit,  and  a  courageous  patience, 
may  not  become  a  benefactor  of  nations  and  of  man- 
kind." 

After  some  personal  details,  which  do  not  concern 
this  history,  he  speaks  of  the  efforts  by  which  thu 
New- York  merchant  "  brought  into  being  an  asso- 
ciation of  Americans  and  Englishmen,  which  contrib- 
uted from  surplus  wealth  the  capital  necessary  as  a 
basis  for  the  enterprise  ;"  and  then  adds  : 

"  It  remained  to  engage  the  consent  and  the  activ- 
ity of  the  Governments  of  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States.  That  was  all  that  remained.  Such 
consent  and  activity  on  the  part  of  some  one  great  na- 
tion of  Europe  was  all  that  remained  needful  for  Co- 
lumbus when  he  stood  ready  to  bring  a  new  continent 
forward  as  a  theatre  of  the  world's  civilization.  But 
in  each  case  that  effort  was  the  most  difficult  of  all. 
Cyrus  "W".  Field,  by  assiduity  and  patience,  first  se- 
cured consent  and  conditional  engagement  on  the  part 
of  Great  Britain,  and  then,  less  than  two  years  ago,  he 
repaired  to  Washington.  The  President  and  Secre- 
tary of  State  individually  favored  his  proposition  ; 
but  the  jealousies  of  parties  and  sections  in  Congress 
forbade  them  to  lend  it  their  official  sanction  and  pat- 
ronage. He  appealed  to  me.  I  drew  the  necessary 
bill.  With  the  generous  aid  of  others,  Northern  Rep- 
resentatives and  the  indispensable  aid  of  the  late 
Thomas  J.  Eusk,  a  Senator  from  Texas,  that  bill, 


114:       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

after  a  severe  contest  and  long  delay,  was  carried 
through  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  by  the  major- 
ity, if  I  remember  rightly,  of  one  vote,  and  escaped 
defeat  in  the  House  of  [Representatives  with  equal  dif- 
ficulty. I  have  said  the  aid  of  Mr.  Kusk  was  indis- 
pensable. If  any  one  has  wondered  why  I,  an  ex- 
treme Northern  man,  loved  and  lamented  Thomas  J. 
Busk,  an  equally  extreme  Southern  man,  they  have 
here  an  explanation.  There  was  no  good  thing  which, 
as  it  seemed  to  me,  I  could  not  do  in  Congress  with 
his  aid.  When  he  died,  it  seemed  to  me  that  no  good 
thing  could  be  done  by  any  one.  Such  was  the  posi- 
tion of  Cyrus  W.  Field  at  that  stage  of  the  great  en- 
terprise. But,  thus  at  last  fortified  with  capital 
derived  from  New- York  and  London,  and  with 
the  navies  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States 
at  his  command,  he  has,  after  trials  that  would 
have  discouraged  any  other  than  a  true  discoverer, 
brought  the  great  work  to  a  felicitous  consummation. 
And  now  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States  stand  waiting  his  permis- 
sion to  speak,  and  ready  to  speak  at  his  bidding ;  and 
the  people  of  these  two  great  countries  await  only  the 
signal  from  him  to  rush  into  a  fraternal  embrace 
which  will  prove  the  oblivion  of  ages  of  suspicion,  of 
jealousies  and  of  anger." 
Mr.  Seward  may  well  refer  with  pride  to  the  part 


HISTORY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       115 

he  took  in  sustaining  this  enterprise.  He  was  from 
the  beginning  its  firmest  supporter,  as  he  has  been  of 
many  other  enterprises  for  the  public  good.  The  bill 
was  introduced  into  the  Senate  by  him,  and  was  car- 
ried through  mainly  by  his  influence,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Eusk,  Mr.  Douglas,  and  one  or  two  others.  It 
was  introduced  on  the  ninth  of  January,  and  came  up 
for  consideration  on  the  twenty-first.  Its  friends  had 
hoped  that  it  might  pass  with  entire  unanimity.  But 
such  was  the  opposition,  that  the  discussion  lasted  two 
days.  The  report  in  the  pages  of  the  Globe  shows 
that  it  was  a  subject  of  animated  and  almost  angry  de- 
bate. 

This  debate  is  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  cannot  be 
supposed  to  have  a  present  interest ;  yet  it  deserves  a 
brief  notice  for  the  reason  that  it  brings  out  so  clearly 
the  objections  to  aid  being  given  to  this  enterprise  by 
the  Government — objections  which  are  heard  even  at 
this  late  day,  and  which,  as  we  do  not  intend  to  refer 
to  them  again,  it  may  be  well  to  notice,  once  for  all, 
and  let  them  be  answered  out  of  the  mouths  of  grave 
senators. 

Probably  no  measure  was  ever  introduced  in  Con- 
gress for  the  help  of  any  commercial  enterprise,  that 
some  member,  imagining  that  it  was  to  benefit  a  parti- 
cular section,  did  not  object  that  it  was  "  unconstitu- 
tional I"  This  objection  was  well  answered  in  this 


116       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

case  by  a  then  honored  senator,  Mr.  Benjamin,  of 
Louisiana,  who  asked  very  pertinently :  "If  we 
have  a  right  to  hire  a  warehouse  at  Port  Mahon,  in 
the  Mediterranean,  for  storing  naval  stores,  have  we 
not  a  right  to  hire  a  company  to  carry  our  messages  T' 
'I  should  as  soon  think  of  questioning  the  constitution- 
al power  of  the  Government  to  pay  freight  to  a  vessel 
for  carrying  its  mail-bags  across  the  ocean,  as  to  pa}r  a 
telegraph  company  a  certain  sum  per  annum  for  con- 
veying its  messages  by  the  use  of  the  electric  tel- 
egraph." 

This  touched  the  precise  ground  on  which  the  ap- 
propriation was  asked.  In  their  memorial  to  the 
President,  the  Company  had  said :  "  Such  a  contract 
will,  we  suppose,  fall  within  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution  in  regard  to  postal  arrangements,  of 
which  this  is  only  a  new  and  improved  form." 

Mr.  Bayard,  of  Delaware,  explained  in  the  same 
terms  the  nature  of  the  proposed  agreement :  "  It  is  a 
mail  operation.  It  is  a  Post-Office  arrangement.  It 
is  for  the  transmission  of  intelligence,  and  that  is  what 
I  understand  to  be  the  function  of  the  Post-Office  De- 
partment. I  hold  it,  therefore,  to  be  as  legitimately 
within  the  proper  powers  of  the  Government,  as  the 
employing  of  a  stage-coach,  or  a  steam-car,  or  a  ship, 
to  transport  the  mails,  either  to  foreign  countries,  or 
to  different  portions  of  our  own  country." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       117 

Of  course,  as  in  all  appropriations  of  money,  the 
question  of  expense  had  to  be  considered,  and  here 
there  were  not  wanting  some  to  cry  out  against  the 
extravagance  of  paying  seventy  thousand  dollars  a 
year  I  "We  had  not  then  got  used  to  the  colossal  ex 
penditures  of  war,  and  had  not  grown  familiar  with 
the  idea  of  paying  three  millions  a  day !  Seventy 
thousand  dollars  seemed  a  great  sum ;  but  Mr.  Bayard 
in  reply  reminded  them  that  England  then  paid  nine 
hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year  for  the  transportation 
of  the  mails  between  the  United  States  and  England  ; 
and  argued  that  it  was  a  very  small  amount  for  the 
great  service  rendered.  He  said :  "I will  venture  the 
assertion,  that  every  Senator  on  this  floor  was  aston- 
ished at  the  small  amount  asked  for  to  accomplish 
this  great  object.  I  had, supposed  it  was  going  to 
occasion  an  expense  of  several  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars  a  year  instead  of  seventy  thousand  dol- 
lars." "  We  have  sent  out  ships  to  make  explorations 
and  observations  in  the  Ked  Sea  and  in  South- Amer- 
ica; we  sent  one  or  two  expensive  expeditions  to 
Japan,  and  published  at  great  cost  some  elegant  books 
narrating  their  exploits.  The  expense  even  in  ships 
alone,  in  that  instance,  was  at  the  rate  of  twenty  to 
one  here,  but  no  cry  of  economy  was  then,  raised." 
"I  look  upon  this  proposition  solely  as  a  business  meas- 
ure ;  in  that  point  of  view  I  believe  the  Government 


118       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

will  obtain  more  service  for  the  amount  of  money, 
than  by  any  other  contract  that  we  have  ever  made, 
or  now  can  make,  for  the  transmission  of  intelli- 
gence." 

As  to  the  expense  of  furnishing  a  ship  of  war  to  as- 
sist in  laying  the  cable,  that  would  be  literally  noth- 
ing. Mr.  Douglas  well  asked :  "  Will  it  cost  any 
thing  to  furnish  the  use  of  one  of  our  steamships  ? 
They  are  idle.  "We  have  no  practical  use  for  them  at 
present.  They  are  in  commission.  They  have  their 
coal  on  board,  and  their  full  armament.  They  will  be 
rendering  no  service  to  us  if  they  are  not  engaged  in 
this  work.  If  there  was  nothing  more  than  a  ques- 
tion of  national  pride  involved,  I  would  gladly  fur- 
nish the  use  of  an  American  ship  for  that  purpose. 
England  tenders  one  of  her  national  vessels,  and  why 
should  we  not  tender  one  also?  It  costs  England 
nothing,  and  it  costs  us  nothing." 

Mr.  Eusk  made  the  same  point,  in  arguing  that 
ships  might  be  sent  to  assist  in  laying  the  cable,  giv- 
ing this  homely  but  sufficient  reason:  "I  think  that 
is  better  than  to  keep  them  rotting  at  the  navy-yards, 
with-  the  officers  frolicking  on  shore." 

Mr.  Douglas  urged  still  further :  "  But  American 
citizens  have  commenced  this  enterprise.  The  honor 
and  the  glory  of  the  achievement,  if  successful,  will  be 
due  to  American  genius  and  American  daring.  Why 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       119 

should  the  American  Government  be  so  penurious — 
I  do  not  know  that  that  is  the  proper  word,  for  it  costs 
nothing — why  should  we  be  actuated  by  so  illiberal 
a  spirit  as  to  refuse  the  use  of  one  of  our  steamships 
to  convey  the  wire  when  it  does  not  cost  one  farthing 
to  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  ?" 

But  behind  all  these  objections  of  expense  and  of 
want  of  constitutional  power,  was  one  greater  than 
them  all,  and  that  was  ENGLAND  !  The  real  animus 
of  the  opposition  was  national  jealousy — a  fear  lest 
they  should  be  giving  some  advantage  to  Great 
Britain. 

This  has  been  always  sufficient  to  excite  the  hos- 
tility of  a  certain  class  of  politicians.  The  mention  of 
the  name  of  England  has  had  the  same  effect  on  them 
as  a  red  rag  waved  before  the  eyes  of  a  mad  bull.  No 
matter  what  the  subject  of  the  proposed  cooperation, 
even  if  it  were  purely  a  scientific  expedition,  they 
were  sure  England  was  going  to  profit  by  it  to  our  in- 
jury. So  now  there  were  those  who  felt  that  in  this 
submarine  cable  England  was  literally  crawling  under 
the  sea  to  get  some  advantage  of  the  United  States. 

This  jealousy  and  hostility  spoke  loudest  from 
the  mouths  of  Southerners.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
men  who,  within  the  last  five  years,  have  figured 
abroad,  courting  foreign  influence  against  their  own 
country,  were  then  fiercest  in  denunciation  of  Eng- 


120       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

land.  Mason  and  Slidell  voted  together  against  the 
bill.  Butler,  of  South-Carolina,  was  very  bitter  in  his 
opposition — saying,  with  a  sneer,  that  "this  was  sim- 
ply a  mail  service  under  the  surveillance  of  Great 
Britain" — and  so  was  Hunter,  of  Virginia ;  while 
Jones,  of  Tennessee,  bursting  with  patriotism,  found  a 
sufficient  reason  for  his  opposition,  in  that  "  he  did  not 
want  any  thing  to  do  with  England  or  Englishmen !  " 

But  it  should  be  said  in  justice,  that  to  this  general 
hostility  of  the  South  there  were  some  exceptions. 
Benjamin,  of  Louisiana,  gave  the  bill  an  earnest  sup- 
port; so  did  Mallory,  of  Florida,  Chairman  of  the 
Naval  Committee ;  and  especially  that  noble  South- 
erner, Eusk,  of  Texas,  "  with  whose  aid,"  as  Mr. 
Seward  said,  "  it  seemed  that  there  was  no  good  thing 
which  he  could  not  do  in  Congress."  Mr.  Eusk 'de- 
clared that  he  regarded  it  as  "the  great  enterprise 
of  the  age,"  and  expressed  his  surprise  at  the  very 
moderate  subsidy  asked  for,  only  seventy  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  and  declared  that,  "  with  a  reasonable 
prospect  of  success  in  an  enterprise  of  this  description, 
calculated  to  produce  such  beneficial  results,  he  should 
be  willing  to  vote  two  hundred  thousand  dollars." 

But  with  the  majority  of  Southern  Senators,  there 
was  a  repugnance  to  acting  in  concert  with  England, 
which  could  not  be  overcome.  They  argued  that  this 
was  not  truly  a  line  between  England  and  the  United 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        121 

States,  but  between  England  and  her  own  colonies — 
a  line  of  which  she  alone  was  to  reap  the  benefit. 
Both  its  termini  were  in  the  British  possessions.  In  the 
event  of  war  this  would  give  a  tremendous  advantage 
to  the  power  holding  both  ends  of  the  line.  All  the 
speakers  harped  on  this  string ;  and  it  may  be  worth 
a  page  or  two  to  see  how  this  was  met  and  answered. 
Thus  spoke  Mr.  Hunter,  of  Virginia : 

"  There  is  another  matter  which  seems  to  me  to  re- 
quire some  safeguards.  Both  the  termini  of  this  tel- 
egraph line  are  in  the  British  dominions.  What  secu- 
rity are  we  to  have  that  in  time  of  war  we  shall  have 
the  use  of  the  telegraph  as  well  as  the  British  Govern- 
ment?" 

The  answer  of  Mr.  Seward  may  satisfy  our  English 
friends  that  he  is  not  animated  by  any  violent  hostil- 
ity to  that  country : 

"  It  appears  not  to  have  been  contemplated  by  the 
British  Government  that  there  would  ever  be  any 
interruption  of  the  amicable  relations  between  the  two 
countries.  Therefore  nothing  was  proposed  in  their 
contract  for  the  contingency  of  war. 

"  That  the  two  termini  are  both  in  the  British  do- 
minions is  true ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  there  is  no 
other  terminus  on  this  continent  where  it  is  practi- 
cable to  make  that  communication  except  in  the  Brit- 
ish dominions.  We  have  no  dominions  on  the  other 
6 


122       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

side  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  There  is  no  other  route 
known  on  which  the  telegraphic  wire  could  be  drawn 
through  the  ocean  so  as  to  find  a  proper  resting  place 
or  anchorage  except  this.  The  distance  on  this  route 
is  seventeen  hundred  miles.  It  is  not  even  known 
that  the  telegraphic  wire  will  carry  the  fluid  with  suf- 
ficient strength  to  communicate  across  those  seventeen 
hundred  miles.  That  is  yet  a  scientific  experiment, 
and  the  Company  are  prepared  to  make  it. 

u  In  regard  to  war,  all  the  danger  is  this  :  There  is 
a  hazard  of  war  at  some  future  time,  and  whatever 
arrangements  we  might  make,  war  would  break  them 
up  —  at  least,  war  would  probably  break  them  up. 
There  can  be  no  stipulation  of  treaty  that  would  save 
us  the  benefit  desired.  My  own  hope  is,  that  after 
the  telegraphic  wire  is  once  laid,  there  will  be  no 
more  war  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Brit- 
ain. I  believe  that  whenever  such  a  connection  as 
this  shall  be  made,  we  diminish  the  chances  of  war, 
and  diminish  them  in  such  a  degree,  that  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary to  take  them  into  consideration  at  the  present 
moment. 

"  Let  us  see  where  we  are  ?  What  shall  we  gain 
by  refusing  to  enter  into  this  agreement  ?  If  we  do 
not  make  it,  the  British  Government  has  only  to  add 
ton  thousand  pounds  sterling  more  annually,  and  they 
have  the  whole  monopoly  of  this  wire,  without  any 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       123 

stipulation  whatever — not  only  in  war  but  in  peace. 
If  we  make  this  contract  with  the  Company,  we  at 
least  secure  the  benefit  of  it  in  time  of  peace,  and  we 
postpone  and  delay  the  dangers  of  war.  If  there 
shall  ever  be  war,  it  would  abrogate  all  treaties  that 
can  be  made  in  regard  to  this  subject,  unless  it  be 
true,  as  the  honorable  Senator  from  Virginia  thinks, 
that  treaties  can  be  made  which  will  be  regarded  as 
obligatory  by  nations  in  time  of  war.  If  so,  we  have 
all  the  advantages  in  time  of  peace,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  such  treaties  hereafter,  without  the  least  rea- 
son to  infer  that  there  would  be  any  reluctance  on  the 
part  of  the  British  Government  to  enter  into  that  ne- 
gotiation with  us,  if  we  should  desire  to  do  so.  The 
British  Government,  if  it  had  such  a  disposition  as 
the  honorable  Senator  supposes,  would  certainly  have 
proposed  to  monopolize  all  this  telegraphic  line,  in- 
stead of  proposing  to  divide  it."  * 

*  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  when  the  Bill  granting  a  charter  to  the 
Atlantic  Telegraph  Company  was  offered  in  the  British  Parliament,  at 
least  one  nobleman  found  fault  with  it  on  this  very  ground,  that  it  gave 
away  important  advantages  which  properly  belonged  to  England,  and 
which  she  ought  to  reserve  to  herself : 

"  In  the  House  of  Lords,  on  the  twentieth  of  July,  1857,  on  the  mo- 
tion for  the  third  reading  of  the  Telegraph  Company's  bill, 

"  Lord  Redesdale  called  attention  to  the  fact  that,  although  the  ter- 
mini of  the  proposed  telegraph  were  both  in  her  Majesty's  dominions, 
namely,  in  Ireland  and  Newfoundland,  the  American  Government  were 


12-1       HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH, 

Mr.  Hale  spoke  in  the  same  strain  : 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  the  war  spirit  and  the  contin- 
gencies of  war  are  brought  in  a  little  too  often  upon 
matters  of  legislation  which  have  no  necessary  connec- 
tion with  them.  If  we  are  to  be  governed  by  consid* 
erations  of  that  sort,  they  would  paralyze  all  improve- 
ment; they  would  stop  the  great  appropriations  for 
commerce  ;  they  would  at  once  neutralize  that  policy 
which  sets  our  ocean  steamers  afloat.  Nobody  pre- 
tends that  the  intercourse  which  is  kept  up  between 
Great  Britain  and  this  country  by  our  ocean  steamers 
would  be  continued  in  time  of  war ;  nor  the  communi- 
cation with  France  or  other  nations. 

to  enjoy  the  same  priority  as  the  British  Government  with  regard  to 
the  transmission  of  messages.  It  was  said  that  this  equal  right  was 
owing  to  the  fact  that  a  joint  guarantee  had  been  given  by  the  two 
Governments.  He  thought,  however,  it  would  have  been  far  better  policy 
on  the  part  of  her  Majesty's  Government  if  they  had  either  undertaken 
the  whole  guarantee  themselves,  and  thus  had  obtained  free  and  sole  con- 
trol over  the  connecting  line  of  telegraph,  or  had  invited  our  own  colonies 
to  participate  in  that  guarantee,  rather  than  have  allowed  a  foreign  gov- 
ernment to  join  in  making  it.  At  the  same  time,  if  the  clause  in  ques- 
tion had  the  sanction  of  her  Majesty's  ministry,  it  was  not  his  intention 
to  object  to  it. 

"  Earl  Granville  said  this  telegraph  was  intended  to  connect  two 
great  countries,  and,  as  the  two  Governments  had  gone  hand  in  hand 
with  regard  to  the  guarantee,  it  seemed  only  reasonable  that  both 
should  have  the  same  rights  as  to  transmitting  messages. 

"  The  bill  was  then  read  a  third  time  and  passed." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        125 

"If  we  are  deterred  for  that  reason,  we  shall  be 
pursuing  a  policy  that  will  paralyze  improvements  on 
those  parts  of  the  coast  which  lie  contiguous  to  the 
lakes.  The  city  of  Detroit  will  have  to  be  abandoned, 
beautiful  and  progressive  as  it  is,  because  in  time  of 
war  the  mansions  of  her  citizens  there  lie  within  the 
range  of  British  guns. 

"What  will  the  suspension  bridge  at  Niagara  be 
good  for  in  a  time  of  war  ?  If  the  British  cut  off  their 
end  of  it,  our  end  will  not  be  worth  much.  I  believe 
that  among  the  things  which  will  bind  us  together  in 
peace,  this  telegraphic  wire  will  be  one  of  the  most 
potent.  It  will  bind  the  two  countries  together  liter- 
ally with  cords  of  iron  that  will  hold  us  in  the  bonds 
of  peace.  I  repudiate  entirely  the  policy  which  re- 
fuses to  adopt  it,  because  in  time  of  war  it  may  be  in- 
terrupted. Such  a  policy  as  that  would  drive  us  back 
to  a  state  of  barbarism.  It  would  destroy  the  spirit 
of  progress ;  it  would  retard  improvement ;  it  would 
paralyze  all  the  advances  which  are  making  us  a  more 
civilized,  and  a  more  informed  and  a  better  people 
than  the  one  which  preceded  us." 

Mr.  Douglas  cut  the  matter  short  by  saying : 
"  I  am  willing  to  vote  for  this  bill  as  a  peace  meas- 
ure, as  a  commercial  measure — but  not  as  a  war  meas- 
ure ;  and  when  war  comes,  let  us  rely  on  our  power 
and  ability  to  take  this  end  of  the  wire,  and  keep  it." 


126       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGKAPII. 

Mr.  Kusk  said :  "  The  advantages  of  this  work  will 
be  mutual,  and  must  be  mutual,  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain.  It  is  impossible  for  one 
nation  at  this  age  to  get  a  great  advantage  over  an- 
other in  means  of  communication,  because  when  a 
communication  is  made,  it  will  be  open  to  the  intelli- 
gence and  enterprise  and  capital  of  all." 

Mr.  Benjamin  said :  "  The  sum  of  money  that  this 
Government  proposes  to  give  for  the  use  of  this  tele- 
graph will  amount,  in  the  twenty- five  years,  to  some- 
thing between  £300,000  and  £400,000.  Now,  if  this 
be  a  matter  of  such  immense  importance  to  Great 
Britain — if  this  be  the  golden  opportunity — and  if,  in- 
deed, her  control  of  this  line  be  such  a  powerful  en- 
gine, whether  in  war  or  in  peace,  is  it  not  most  extra- 
ordinary that  she  proposes  to  us  a  full  share  in  its 
benefits  and  in  its  control,  and  allows  to  our  Govern- 
ment equal  rights  with  herself  in  the  transmission  of 
communications  for  the  sum  of  about  £300,000,  to  be 
paid  in  annual  instalments  through  twenty-five  years? 
If  this  be,  indeed,  a  very  important  instrumentality  in 
behalf  of  Great  Britain  for  the  conduct  of  her  commerce, 
the  government  of  her  possessions,  or  the  efficient  ac- 
tion of  her  troops  in  time  of  war,  the  £300,000  ex 
pended  upon  it  are  but  as  a  drop  in  the  bucket  when 
compared  with,  the  immense  resources  of  that  empire. 
I  think,  therefore,  we  may  as  well  discard  from  our 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       127 

consideration  of  this  subject  all  these  visions  about  the 
immense  importance  of  the  governmental  aid  in  this 
matter,  to  be  rendered  under  the  provisions  of  this 
bill. 

"  Mr.  President,  let  us  not  always  be  thinking  of 
war ;  let  us  be  using  means  to  preserve  peace.  The 
amount  that  would  be  expended  bj  this  Government 
in  six  months'  war  with  Great  Britain,  would  far  ex- 
ceed every  thing  that  we  shall  have  to  pay  for  the  use 
of  this  telegraphic  line  for  the  entire  twenty-five  years 
of  the  contract ;  and  do  you  not  believe  that  this  in- 
strumentality will  be  sufficiently  efficient  to  bind  to- 
gether the  peace,  the  commerce,  and  the  interests  of 
the  two  countries,  so  as  even  to  defer  a  war  for  six 
months  or  twelve  months,  if  one  should  ever  become 
inevitable,  beyond  the  period  at  which  it  would  other- 
wise occur  ?  If  it  does  that,  it  will  in  six  or  eight  or 
nine  months  repay  the  expenditures  of  twenty-five 
years. 

"Again,  sir,  I  say,  if  Great  Britain  wants  it  for  war, 
she  will  put  it  there  at  her  own  expense.  It  is  not 
three  hundred  thousand  pounds,  or  four  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds,  that  will  arrest  her.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
this  be  useful  to  commerce — useful  in  an  eminent  de 
gree — useful  for  the  preservation  of  peace,  then  I  con 
fess  I  feel  some  pride  that  my  country  should  aid  in 
establishing  it.  I  confess  I  feel  a  glow  of  something 


128       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

like  pride  that  I  belong  to  toe  great  human  family 
when  I  see  these  triumphs  of  science,  by  which  mind 
is  brought  into  instant  communication  with  mind 
across  the  intervening  oceans,  which,  to  our  unenlight- 
ened forefathers,  seemed  placed  there  by  Providence 
as  an  eternal  barrier  to  communication  between  man 
and  man.  Now,  sir,  we  speak  from  minute  to  minute. 
Scarcely  can  a  gun  be  fired  in  war  on  the  European 
shore  ere  its  echoes  will  reverberate  among  our  own 
mountains,  and  be  heard  by  every  citizen  in  the  land. 
All  this  is  a  triumph  of  science — of  American  genius, 
and  I  for  one  feel  proud  of  it,  and  feel  desirous  of 
sustaining  and  promoting  it." 

Mr.  Douglas  said :  "  Oar  policy  is  essentially  a  poli- 
cy of  peace.  We  want  peace  with  the  whole  world, 
above  all  other  considerations.  There  never  has  been 
a  time  in  the  history  of  this  Republic,  when  peace  was 
more  essential  to  our  prosperity,  to  our  advancement, 
and  to  our  progress,  than  it  is  now.  We  have  made 
great  progress  in  time  of  peace — an  almost  inconceiv- 
able progress  since  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain. 
Twenty-five  years  more  of  peace  will  put  us  far  in  ad- 
vance of  any  other  nation  on  earth." 

It  was  fit  that  Mr.  Seward,  who  introduced  the  bill, 
and  opened  the  debate,  should  close  in  words  that  now 
seem  prophetic,  and  show  the  large  wisdom,  looking 
before  and  after,  of  this  eminent  statesman : 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       129 

1  There  was  an  American  citizen  who,  in  the  year 
1770,  or  thereabout,  indicated  to  this  country,  to  Great 
Britain,  and  to  the  world,  the  use  of  the  lightning  for 
the  purposes  of  communication  of  intelligence,  and 
that  was  Dr.  Franklin.  I  am  sure  that  there  is  not 
only  no  member  of  the  Senate,  but  no  American  citi- 
zen, however  humble,  who  would  be  willing  to  have 
struck  out  from  the  achievements  of  American  inven- 
tion this  great  discovery  of  the  lightning  as  an  agent 
for  the  uses  of  human  society. 

"  The  suggestion  made  by  that  distinguished  and 
illustrious  American  was  followed  up  some  fifty  years 
afterward  by  another  suggestion  and  another  indica- 
tion from  another  American,  and  that  was  Mr.  Samuel 
F.  B.  Morse,  who  indicated  to  the  American  Govern- 
ment the  means  by  which  the  lightning  could  be  made 
to  write,  and  by  which  the  telegraphic  wires  could  be 
made  to  supply  the  place  of  wind  and  steam  for  carry- 
ing intelligence. 

"  We  have  followed  out  these  suggestions  of  these 
eminent  Americans  hitherto,  and  I  am  sure  at  a  very 
small  cost.  The  Government  of  the  United  States  ap- 
propriated $40,000  to  test  the  practicability  of  Morse's 
suggestion;  the  $40,000  thus  expended  established  its 
practicability  and  its  use.  Now,  there  is  no  person  on 
the  face  of  the  globe  who  can  measure  the  price  at 
which,  if  a  reasonable  man,  he  would  be  willing  to 


130       HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

strike  from  the  world  the  use  of  the  magnetic  tele- 
graph as  a  means  of  communication  between  different 
portions  of  the  same  countiy.  This  great  invention  is 
now  to  be  brought  into  its  further,  wider,  and  broader 
use — the  use  by  the  general  society  of  nations,  inter- 
national use,  the  use  of  the  society  of  mankind.  Its 
benefits  are  large— just  in  proportion  to  the  extent 
and  scope  of  its  operation.  They  are  not  merely 
benefits  to  the  Government,  but  they  are  benefits  to 
the  citizens  and  subjects  of  all  nations  and  of  all 
States. 

"  I  might  enlarge  further  on  this  subject,  but  I  ior- 
bear  to  do  so,  because  I  know  that  at  some  future 
time  I  shall  come  across  the  record  of  what  I  have 
said  to-day.  I  know  that  then  what  I  have  said  to-day, 
by  way  of  anticipation,  will  fall  so  far  short  of  the  reality 
of  benefits  which  individuals,  States,  and  nations  will 
have  derived  from  this  great  enterprise,  that  I  shall 
not  reflect  upon  it  without  disappointment  and  morti- 
fication." 

After  such  arguments,  it  should  seem  that  there 
could  be  but  one  opinion,  and  yet  the  bill  passed  the 
Senate  by  only  one  majority  !  It  also  had  to  run  the 
gauntlet  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  where  it  en 
countered  the  same  hostility.  But  at  length  it  got 
through,  and  was  signed  by  President  Pierce  on  the 
third  of  March,  the  day  before  he  went  out  of  office. 
Thus  it  became  a  law- 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

RETURN  TO  ENGLAND.  THE  NIAGARA — CAPTAIN  HUDSON.  THE  AGA- 
MEMNON. EXPEDITION  OF  1857.  SAILING  FROM  IRELAND.  SPEECH 
OF  THE  EARL  OF  CARLISLE.  THE  CABLE  BROKEN. 

SCAECELY  was  the  business  with  the  American  Gov- 
ernment completed,  before  Mr.  Field  was  recalled  to 
England.  Once  more  upon  the  waves,  he  forgot  the 
long  delay  and  the  vexatious  opposition  which  he  left 
behind — the  fogs  of  Newfoundland,  and  the  denser 
fogs  of  Washington.  He  was  bound  for  England, 
and  there  at  least  the  work  did  not  stand  still.  All 
winter  long  the  wheels  of  the  machinery  had  kept  in 
motion.  The  cable  was  uncoiling  its  mighty  folds  to 
a  length  sufficient  to  span  the  Atlantic,  and  at  last 
there  was  hope  of  victory. 

Although  the  United  States  Government  had  seem- 
ed a  little  ungracious  in  its  delay,  it  yet  rendered,  this 
year  and  next,  important  service  to  the  Atlantic  Tele- 
graph. Already  it  had  prepared  the  way  for  it,  by 
the  deep-sea  soundings,  which  it  was  the  first  to  take 
across  the  Atlantic.  It  now  rendered  additional  and 
substantial  aid  in  lending  to  this  enterprise  the  two 


132       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

finest  ships  in  the  American  navy — the  Niagara  and 
the  Susquehanna.  The  former  especially  deserves  no- 
tice, as  she  has  become  a  historical  ship.  She  was 
built  some  dozen  years  ago  by  the  lamented  George 
Steers — a  name  celebrated  among  our  marine  archi- 
tects as  the  constructor  of  the  famous  yacht  America, 
that  "  race-horse  of  the  sea,"  which  had  crossed  the 
Atlantic,  and  carried  off  the  prize  in  the  British  Chan- 
nel from  the  yachts  of  England — and  was  designed 
to  be  a  model  of  naval  architecture.  She  was  the 
largest  steam-frigate  in  the  world,  exceeding  in  ton- 
nage the  heaviest  line-of-battle  ship  in  the  English 
navy,  and  yet  so  finely  modelled  that,  propelled 
only  by  a  screw,  she  could  easily  make  ten  or  twelve 
miles  an  hour.  Notwithstanding  her  huge  bulk,  she 
was  intended  to  carry  but  twelve  guns — being  one  of 
the  first  ships  in  our  navy  to  substitute  a  few  enor- 
mous Dahlgrens  for  half  a  dozen  times  as  many  fifty- 
six-pounders.  This  was  the  beginning  of  that  revo- 
lution in  naval  warfare,  which  has  been  carried  to 
such  extent  in  the  Monitors  and  other  ironclads  in- 
troduced in  our  recent  civil  war.  Each  gun  weighed 
fourteen  tons — requiring  a  crew  of  twenty-five  men  to 
wield  it — and  threw  a  shell  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
pounds  a  distance  of  three  miles.  One  or  two  broad- 
sides from  such  a  deck  would  sink  an  old-fashioned 
seventy-four,  or  even  a  ninety  or  hundred-gun  ship. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        133 

But  as  the  Niagara  was  now  to  go  on  an  errand  of 
peace,  this  formidable  armament  was  not  taken  on 
board.  She  was  built  with  what  is  known  as  a  "flush 
deck,"  clear  from  stem  to  stern,  and  being  without 
her  guns,  was  left  free  for  the  more  peaceful  bur- 
den that  she  was  to  bear.  When  the  orders  were  re- 
ceived from  Washington,  she  was  lying  at  the  Brook- 
lyn Navy- Yard,  but  began  immediately  to  prepare 
for  her  expedition.  Bulkheads  were  knocked  down, 
above  and  below,  to  make  room  for  that  huge  ser- 
pent— longer  a  thousand  times  than  any  fabled  mon- 
ster of  the  deep — that  was  to  be  coiled  within  her 
sides.  These  preparations  occupied  four  or  five 
weeks.  On  the  twenty-second  of  April,  she  made  a 
trial  trip  down  the  bay,  and  two  days  after  sailed  for 
England,  in  command  of  Captain  William  L.  Hudson, 
one  of  the  oldest  and  best  officers  in  our  navy,  who, 
to  his  past  services  to  his  country,  was  now  to  add 
another  in  the  expeditions  of  this  and  the  follow- 
ing year.  He  had  with  him  as  Chief  Engineer  Mr. 
William  E.  Everett,  whose  mechanical  genius  proved 
so  important  in  constructing  the  paying-out  machinery 
which  finally  laid  the  cable. 

Besides  the  regular  ship's  crew,  no  one  was  receiv- 
ed on  board  except  two  officers  of  the  Russian  navy — 
Captain  Schwartz  and  Lieutenant  Kolobnin  —  who 
were  permitted  by  our  Government,  as  an  act  of  na- 


134       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

tional  courtesy,  to  go  out  to  witness  this  great  experi- 
ment; and  Professor  Morse,  who  went  as  the  elec- 
trician of  the  Newfoundland  Company.  The  regula- 
tions of  the  navy  did  not  admit  correspondents  of  the 

press;  but  Professor  Morse  was  permitted  to  take  a 

i 

secretary,  arid  chose  Mr*  Mullaly,  who  had  thus  an 
opportunity  to  witness  all  the  preparations  on  land 
and  sea,  and  to  furnish  those  minute  and  detailed 
accounts  of  the  several  expeditions,  which  contribute 
some  important  chapters  in  the  history  of  this  enter- 
prise. 

The  Niagara  arrived  out  on  the  fourteenth  of  Ma^ , 
and  cast  anchor  off  Gravesend,  about  twenty-five 
miles  below  London.  As  it  was  the  first  time — at 
least  for  many  years — that  an  American  ship  of  war 
had  appeared  in  the  Thames,  this  facf,  with  her  huge 
proportions  and  the  object  for  which  she  came,  at- 
tracted a  crowd  of  visitors.  Every  day,  from  morn- 
ing to  night,  a  fleet  of  boats  was  around  her,  and  men 
and  women  thronged  over  her  sides.  Every  body  was 
welcome.  All  were  received  with  the  utmost  cour- 
tesy, and  allowed  access  to  all  parts  of  the  ship. 
Among  these  were  many  visitors  of  distinction.  Here 
came  Lady  Franklin  to  thank  the  generous  nation 
that  had  sent  two  expeditions  to  recover  her  husband 
lost  amid  Polar  seas.  She  was,  of  course,  the  object 
of  universal  attention  and  respectful  sympathy. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       135 

While  lying  in  the  Thames,  the  Agamemnon,  that 
was  to  take  the  other  half  of  the  cable,  passed  up  the 
river.  This,  too,  was  a  historical  ship,  having  borne 
the  flag  of  the  British  admiral  at  the  bombardment 
of  Sebastopol,  and  distinguished  herself  by  steaming 
up  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  guns  of  the 
fortress.  After  passing  through  the  fires  of  that  ter- 
rible day,  she  was  justly  an  object  of  pride  to  Britons, 
whose  hearts  swelled  as  they  saw  this  oak-ribbed 
leviathan,  that  had  come  "  out  of  the  gates  of  death, 
out  of  the  jaws  of  hell,"  now  preparing  to  take  part 
in  achievements  of  peace,  not  less  glorious  than  those 
of  war.  She  was  under  command  of  Captain  Noddal, 
of  the  Eoyal  Navy. 

As  the  Agamemnon  came  up  the  river  in  grand 
style,  she  recognized  the  Niagara  lying  off  Grravesend, 
and  manning  her  yards,  gave  her  a  succession  of  those 
English  hurras  so  stirring  to  the  blood,  when  heard 
on  land  or  sea,  to  which  our  tars  replied  with  lusty 
American  cheers.  It  was  pleasant  to  observe,  from 
this  time,  the  hearty  good- will  that  existed  between 
the  officers  and  crews  of  the  two  ships,  who  in  their 
exertions  for  the  common  object,  were  animated  only 
by  a  generous  rivalry. 

A  few  days  after,  the  Niagara  was  joined  by  the 
Susquehanna,  Captain  Sands,  which  had  been  ordered 
from  the  Mediterranean  to  take  part  also  in  the  expe- 


136       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

dition.  She  was  a  fit  companion  ship,  being  the 
largest  side-wheel  steamer  in  our  navy,  as  the  other 
was  the  largest  propeller.  Both  together,  they  were 
worthy  representatives  of  the  American  navy. 

When  the  Niagara  arrived  in  the  Thames,  it  was 
supposed  she  would  take  on  board  her  half  of  the  cable 
from  the  manufactory  of  Glass,  Elliot  &  Co.,  at  Green- 
wich ;  but  on  account  of  her  great  length,  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  bring  her  up  alongside  the  wharf  in  front  of 
the  works.  This  was  therefore  left  to  the  Agamem- 
non, while  the  Niagara  was  ordered  around  to  Liver- 
poo],  to  take  the  other  half  from  the  works  of  Newall 
&  Co.,  at  Birkenhead,  opposite  that  city.  Accord- 
ingly she  left  Gravesend  on  the  fifth  of  June,  and 
reached  Portsmouth  the  next  day,  where  she  remain- 
ed a  fortnight,  to  have  some  further  alterations  to  fit 
her  to  receive  the  cable.  Although  she  had  been  al- 
ready pretty  well  "  scooped  out,"  fore  and  aft,  the  cry 
was  still  for  room.  Officers  had  to  shift  for  them- 
selves, as  their  quarters  were  swept  away  to  make  a 
wider  berth  for  their  iron  guest.  But  all  submitted 
with  excellent  grace.  Like  true  sailors,  they  took  it 
"  gaily  "  as  if  they  were  only  clearing  the  decks  to  go 
into  battle.  Among  other  alterations  for  safety,  was 
a  framework  or  "  cage  "  of  iron,  which  was  put  over 
the  stern  of  the  ship,  to  keep  the  cable  from  getting 
entangled  in  the  screw.  As  soon  as  these  were  com- 


HISTOIIY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.       137 

pleted,  the  Niagara  left  for  Liverpool,  and  on  the 
twenty-second  of  June  cast  anchor  in  the  Mersey. 
Here  she  attracted  as  much  attention  as  in  the  Thames, 
being  crowded  with  visitors  during  the  week;  and  on 
Sundays,  when  none  were  received  on  board,  the 
river-boats  sought  to  gratify  public  curiosity  by  sail- 
ing around  her.  The  officers  of  the  ship  at  the  same 
time  were  objects  of  constant  hospitality,  both  from 
private  citizens  and  from  the  public  authorities.  The 
Mayor  of  Liverpool  gave  them  a  dinner,  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  another,  while  the  Americans  in  Liver- 
pool entertained  them  at  a  grand  banquet  on  the 
fourth  of  July — the  first  public  celebration  of -our 
national  anniversary  ever  had  in  that  city. 

But  while  these  festivities  were  kept  up  on  shore, 
hard  work  was  done  on  board  the  ship.  To  coil 
thirteen  hundred  miles  of  cable  was  an  immense  un- 
dertaking. Yet  it  was  all  done  by  the  sailors  them- 
selves. No  compulsion  was  used,  and  none  was  need- 
ed. No  sooner  was  there  a  call  for  volunteers,  than 
men  stepped  forward  in  greater  numbers  than  could 
be  employed.  Out  of  these  were  chosen  one  hundred 
and  twenty  stalwart  fellows,  who  were  divided  into 
two  gangs  of  sixty  men,  and  each  gang  into  watches 
of  thirty,  which  relieved  each  other,  and  all  went  to 
work  with  such  enthusiasm,  that  in  three  weeks  the 
herculean  task  was  completed.  The  event  was  cele- 


138       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

brated  by  a  final  dinner  given  by  the  shareholders  of 
the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company  residing  at  Liver- 
pool to  Captain  Hudson,  and  Captain  Sands  of  the 
Susquehanna,  whose  arrival  in  the  Mersey  enabled 
them  to  extend  their  hospitalities  to  the  officers  of 
both  ships. 

"While  the  Niagara  was  thus  doing  her  part,  the 
same  scene  was  going  on  on  board  the  Agamemnon, 
which  was  still  lying  in  the  Thames.  There  the  work 
was  completed  about  the  same  day,  and  the  occasion 
duly  honored  by  a  scene  as  unique  as  it  was  beautiful. 
Says  the  London  Times  of  July  twenty-fourth  : 

"•All  the  details  connected  with  the  manufacture 
and  stowage  of  the  cable  are  now  completed,  and  the 
conclusion  of  the  arduous  labor  was  celebrated  yester- 
day with  high  festivity  and  rejoicing.  All  the  arti- 
sans who  have  been  engaged  upon  the  great  work, 
with  their  wives  and  families,  a  large,  party  of  the  offi- 
cers, with  the  sailors  from  the  Agamemnon,  and  a 
number  of  distinguished  scientific  visitors,  were  enter- 
tained upon  this  occasion  at  a  kind  of  fete  champetre 
at  Belvidere  house,  the  seat  of  Sir  Culling  Eardley, 
near  Erith.  The  festival  was  held  in  the  beautiful 
park  which  had  been  obligingly  opened  by  Sir  Cul- 
ling Eardley  for  the  purpose.  Although  in  no  way 
personally  interested  in  the  project,  the  honorable  bar- 
onet has  all  along  evinced  the  liveliest  sympathy  with 


HISTORY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.        139 

the  undertaking,  and  himself  proposed  to  have  the 
completion  of  the  work  celebrated  in  his  picturesque 
grounds.  The  manufacturers,  fired  with  generous 
emulation,  erected  spacious  tents  on  the  lawn,  and 
provided  a  magnificent  banquet  for  the  guests,  and  a 
substantial  one  for  the  sailors  of  the  Agamemnon  and 
the  artificers  who  had  been  employed  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  cable.  By  an  admirable  arrangement,  the 
guests  were  accommodated  at  a  vast  semi-circular  ta- 
ble, which  ran  round  the  whole  pavilion,  while  the 
sailors  and  workmen  sat  at  a  number  of  long  tables 
arranged  at  right  angles  with  the  chord,  so  that  the 
general  effect  was  that  all  dined  together,  while  at  the 
same  time  sufficient  distinction  was  preserved  to  sat- 
isfy the  most  fastidious.  The  three  centre  tables  were 
occupied  by  the  crew  of  the  Agamemnon,  a  fine,  act- 
ive body  of  young  men,  who  paid  the  greatest  atten- 
tion to  the  speeches,  and  drank  all  the  toasts  with  an 
admirable  punctuality,  at  least  so  long  as  their  three 
pints  of  beer  per  man  lasted ;  but  we  regret  to  add 
that,  what  with  the  heat  of  the  day  and  the  enthu- 
siasm of  Jack  in  the  cause  of  science,  the  mugs  were 
all  empty  long  before  the  chairman's  list  of  toasts  had 
been  gone  through.  Next  in  interest  to  the  sailors 
were  the  workmen  and  their  wives  and  babies,  all  be- 
ing permitted  to  assist  at  the  great  occasion.  The  lat- 
ter, it  is  true,  sometimes  squalled  at  an  affecting  pero- 


140       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ration,  but  that  rather  improved  the  effect  than  other- 
wise, and  the  presence  of  these  little  ones  only  mark- 
ed the  genuine  good  feeling  of  the  employers,  who 
had  thus  invited  not  only  their  workmen  but  their 
workmen's  families  to  the  feast.  It  was  a  momentary 
return  to  the  old  patriarchal  times,  and  every  oncj 
present  seemed  delighted  with  the  experiment." 

Speeches  were  made  by  Sir  Culling  Eardley,  by 
Mr.  Cardwell,  of  the  House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Brook- 
ing, one  of  the  Directors,  by  Professor  Morse,  and 
others.  Mr.  Field  read  a  letter  from  President  Bu- 
chanan, saying  that  he  should  feel  honored  if  the  first 
message  should  be  one  from  Queen  Victoria  to  him- 
self, and  that  he  "  would  endeavor  to  answer  it  in  a 
spirit  and  manner  becoming  a  great  occasion." 

Thus  labor  and  feasting  being  ended,  the  Niagara 
and  the  Susquehanna  left  Liverpool  the  latter  part  of 
July,  and  steamed  down  St.  George's  Channel  to 
Queenstown,  which  was  to  be  the  rendezvous  of  the 
telegraphic  squadron,  and  here  they  were  joined  by 
the  Agamemnon  and  the  Leopard,  which  was  to  be 
her  consort.  The  former,  as  she  entered  the  har- 
bor, came  to  anchor  about  a  third  of  a  mile  from 
the  Niagara.  The  presence  of  the  two  ships  which 
had  the  cable  on  board,  gave  an  opportunity  which 
the  electricians  had  desired  to  test  its  integrity.  Ac- 
cordingly one  end  of  each  cable  was  carried  to  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       141 

opposite  ship,  and  so  joined  as  to  form  a  continuous 
length  of  twenty-five  hundred  miles,  both  ends  of 
which  were  on  board  the  Agamemnon.  One  end  was 
then  connected  with  the  apparatus  for  transmitting 
the  electric  current,  and  on  a  sensitive  galvanometer 
being  attached  to  the  other  end,  the  whole  cable 
was  tested  from  end  to  end,  and  found  to  be  per- 
fect. These  experiments  were  continued  for  two  days 
with  the  same  result.  This  inspired  fresh  hopes  for 
the  success  of  the  expedition,  and  in  high  spirits  they 
bore  away  for  the  harbor  of  Valentia. 

It  had  been  for  some  time  a  matter  of  discussion, 
where  they  should  begin  to  lay  the  cable,  whether 
from  the  coast  of  Ireland,  or  in  mid-ocean,  the  two 
ships  making  the  junction  there,  and  dropping  it  to 
the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  then  parting,  one  to  the 
east  and  the  other  to  the  west,  till  they  landed  their 
ends  on  the  opposite  shores  of  the  Atlantic.  This 
was  the  plan  adopted  the  following  year,  and  which 
finally  proved  successful.  It  was  the  one  preferred 
by  the  engineers  now,  but  the  electricians  favored  the 
other  course,  and  their  counsel  prevailed.  It  was 
therefore  decided  to  submerge  the  whole  cable  in  a  con- 
tinuous line  from  Valentia  Bay  to  Newfoundland.  The 
Niagara  was  to  lay  the  first  half  from  Ireland  to  the 
middle  of  the  Atlantic ;  the  end  would  then  be  joined 
to  the  other  half  on  board  the  Agamemnon,  which 


142       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

would  take  it  on  to  the  coast  of  Newfoundland. 
During  the  whole  process  the  four  vessels  were  to 
remain  together  and  give  whatever  assistance  was 
required.  While  it  was  being  laid  down,  messages 
were  to  be  sent  back  to  Yalentia,  reporting  each  day's 
progress. 

As  might  be  supposed,  the  mustering  of  such  a 
fleet  of  ships,  and  the  busy  note  of  preparation  which 
had  been  heard  for  weeks,  produced  a  great  sensation 
in  this  remote  part  of  Ireland.  The  people  from  far 
and  near,  gathered  on  the  hills  and  looked  on  in  si- 
lent wonder. 

To  add  to  the  dignity  of  the  occasion,  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  came  down  from  Dublin  to  witness  the 
departure  of  the  expedition.  Happily  this  was  a 
nobleman  well  fitted  to  represent  his  own  country, 
and  to  command  audience  from  ours.  The  Earl 
of  Carlisle — better  known  among  us  as  Lord  Mor- 
peth — had  travelled  in  the  United  States  a  few  years 
before,  and  shown  himself  one  of  the  most  intelligent 
and  liberal  foreigners  that  ever  visited  America.  No 
representative  of  England  could  on  that  day  have 
stood  upon  the  shores  of  Ireland,  and  stretched  out 
his  hand  to  his  kindred  beyond  the  sea  with  more 
assurance  that  his  greeting  would  be  warmly  respond- 
ed to.  And  never  did  one  speak  more  aptly  words 
of  wisdom  and  of  peace.  We  read  them  still  with  ad- 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       143 

miration  for  their  beauty  and  their  eloquence,  and 
with  an  interest  more  tender  but  more  sad,  that  this 
great  and  good  man — the  true  friend  of  his  own  coun- 
try and  of  ours — has  gone  to  his  grave.  To  quote  his 
own  words  is  the  best  tribute  to  his  memory,  and  will 
do  more  than  any  eulogy  we  can  pay  to  keep  it  fresh 
and  green  in  the  hearts  of  Americans.  On  his  arrival 
at  Yalentia,  he  was  entertained  by  the  Knight  of 
Kerry  at  one  of  those  public  breakfasts  so  much  in 
fashion  in  England,  at  which  in  response  to  a  toast 
in  his  honor,  after  making  his  personal  acknowledg- 
ments, he  said : 

"I  believe,  as  your  worthy  chairman  has  already 
•  hinted,  that  I  am  probably  the  first  Lieutenant  of  Ire- 
land who  ever  appeared  upon  this  lovely  strand.  At 
all  events,  no  Lord  Lieutenant  could  have  come 
amongst  you  on  an  occasion  like  the  present.  Amidst 
all  the  pride  and  the  stirring  hopes  which  cluster 
around  the  work  of  this  week,  we  ought  still  to  re- 
member that  we  must  speak  with  the  modesty  of  those 
who  begin  and  not  of  those  who  close  an  experiment, 
and  it  behooves  us  to  remember  that  the  pathway  to 
great  achievements  has  frequently  to  be  hewn  out 
amidst  risks  and  difficulties,  and  that  preliminary  fail- 
ure is  even  the  law  and  condition  of  the  ultimate  suc- 
cess. [Loud  cheers.]  Therefore,  whatever  disappoint- 
ments may  possibly  be  in  store,  I  must  yet  insinuate 


144       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGBAPH. 

to  you  that  in  a  cause  like  this  it  would  be  criminal 
to  feel  discouragement.  [Cheers.]  In  the  very  design 
and  endeavor  to  establish  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  there 
is  almost  enough  of  glory.  It  is  true  if  it  be  only  an 
attempt  there  would  not  be  quite  enough  of  profit.  I 
hope  that  will  come,  too ;  but  there  is  enough  of  pub- 
lic spirit,  of  love  for  science,  for  our  country,  for  the 
human  race,  almost  to  suffice  in  themselves.  How- 
ever, upon  this  rocky  frontlet  of  Ireland,  at  all  events, 
to-day  we  will  presume  upon  success.  "We  are  about, 
either  by  this  sundown  or  by  to-morrow's  dawn,  to  es- 
tablish a  new  material  link  between  the  Old  World  and 
the  New.  Moral  links  there  have  been — links  of  race, 
links  of  commerce,  links  of  friendship,  links  of  litera- 
ture, links  of  glory ;  but  this,  our  new  link,  instead  of 
superseding  and  supplanting  the  old  ones,  is  to  give  a 
life  and  an  intensity  which  they  never  had  before. 
[Loud  cheers.]  Highly  as  I  value  the  reputations  of 
those  who  have  conceived,  and  those  who  have  con- 
tributed to  carry  out  this  bright  design — and  I  wish 
that  so  many  of  them  had  not  been  unavoidably  pre- 
vented from  being  amongst  us  at  this  moment* — 
highly  as  I  estimate  their  reputation,  yet  I  do  not 
compliment  them  with  the  idea  that  they  are  to  efface 
or  dim  the  glory  of  that  Columbus,  who,  when  the 
large  vessels  in  the  harbor  of  Cork  yesterday  weighed 

*  All  of  the  ships  had  not  arrived. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        145 

their  anchors,  did  so  on  that  very  day  three  hundred 
and  sixty-five  years  ago — it  would  have  been  called 
iu  Hebrew  writ  a  year  of  years — and  set  sail  upon  his 
glorious  enterprise  of  discovery.  They,  I  say,  will 
not  dim  or  efface  his  glory,  but  they  are  now  giv- 
ing the  last  finish  and  consummation  to  his  work. 
Hitherto  the  inhabitants  of  the  two  worlds  have  asso- 
ciated perhaps  in  the  chilling  atmosphere  of  distance 
with  each  other — a  sort  of  bowing  distance ;  but  now 
we  can  be  hand  to  hand,  grasp  to  grasp,  pulse  to 
pulse.  [Cheers.]  The  link,  which  is  now  to  connect 
us,  like  the  insect  in  the  immortal  couplet  of  our 
poet: 

While  exquisitely  fine, 
Feels  at  each  thread  and  lives  along  the  line. 

And  we  may  feel,  gentlemen  of  Ireland,  of  Eng- 
land, and  of  America,  that  we  may  take  our  stand 
here  upon  the  extreme  rocky  edge  of  our  beloved 
Ireland;  we  may,  as  it  were,  leave  in  our  rear  behind 
us  the  wars,  the  strifes,  and  the  bloodshed  of  the  elder 
Europe,  and  I  fear  I  may  say,  of  the  elder  Asia ;  and 
we  may  pledge  ourselves,  weak  as  our  agency  may  be, 
imperfect  as  our  powers  may  be,  inadequate  in  strict 
diplomatic  form  as  our  credentials  may  be,  yet,  in  the 
face  of  the  unparalleled  circumstances,  of  the  place 
and  the  hour,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the 
mighty  vessels  whose  appearance  may  be  beautiful 
7 


146       HISTORY  OF  THE    ATLANTIC  TELEGBAPH. 

upon  the  waters,  even  as  are  the  feet  upon  the  moun- 
tains of  those  who  preach  the  Gospel  of  peace — as  an 
homage  due  to  that  serene  science  which  often  affords 
higher  and  holier  lessons  of  harmony  and  good  will 
than  the  wayward  passions  of  man  are  always  apt  to 
learn — in  the  face  and  in  the  strength  of  such  circum- 
stances, let  us  pledge  ourselves  to  eternal  peace  be- 
tween the  Old  World  and  the  New." 

While  these  greetings  were  exchanged  on  shore, 
only  the  smaller  vessels  of  the  squadron  had  arrived. 
But  in  a  few  hours  the  great  hulls  of  the  Niagara  and 
the  Agamemnon,  followed  by  the  Leopard  and  the  Sus- 
quehanna,  were  seen  in  the  horizon,  and  soon  they  all 
cast  anchor  in  the  bay.  As  the  sun  went  down  in  the 
west,  shining  still  on  that  other  hemisphere  which 
they  were  going  to  seek,  its  last  rays  fell  on  an  expe- 
dition more  suggestive  and  hopeful  than  any  since 
that  of  Columbus  from  the  shores  of  Spain,  and  upon 
navigators  not  unworthy  to  be  called  his  followers. 

The  whole  squadron  was  now  assembled,  and  made 
quite  a  naval  array.  There  were  present  in  the  little 
harbor  of  Valentia  seven  ships — the  stately  Niagara, 
which  was  to  lay  the  half  of  the  cable  from  Ireland, 
and  her  consort,  the  Susquehanna,  riding  by  her  side; 
while  floating  the  flag  of  England,  were  the  Agamem- 
non, which  was  appointed  to  lay  the  cable  on  the 
American  side,  and  her  consort,  the  Leopard.  Beside 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       147 

these  high- decked  ships  of  war,  the  steamer  Advice 
had  come  round  to  give,  not  merely  advice  but  lusty 
help  in  landing  the  cable  at  Yalentia ;  arid  the  little 
steamer  Willing  Mind,  with  a  zeal  worthy  of  her 
name,  was  flying  back  and  forth  between  ship  and 
shore,  lending  a  hand  wherever  there  was  work  to  be 
done;  and  the  Cyclops,  under  the  experienced  com- 
mand of  Captain  Dayman,  who  had  made  the  deep-sea 
soundings  across  the  Atlantic  only  the  month  before, 
here  joined  the  squadron  to  lead  the  way  across  the 
deep.  This  made  five  English  ships,  with  but  two 
American ;  but  to  keep  up  our  part,  there  were  two 
more  steamers  on  the  other  side  of  the  sea,  the  Arc- 
tic, under  Lieutenant  Berryman,  and  the  Company's 
steamer  Victoria,  to  watch  for  the  coming  of  the  fleet 
off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland,  and  help  in  landing  the 
cable  on  the  shores  of  the  New  World. 

It  was  now  Tuesday  evening,  the  fourth  of  August, 
too  late  to  undertake  the  landing  that  night,  but  pre- 
parations were  at  once  begun  for  it  the  next  morn- 
ing. Says  the  correspondent  of  the  Liverpool  Post: 

"  The  ships  were  visited  in  the  course  of  the  even- 
ing by  the  Directors  and  others  interested  in  the  great 
undertaking,  and  arrangements  were  immediately  com- 
menced on  board  the  Niagara  for  paying  out  the  shore 
rope  for  conveyance  to  the  mainland.  These  arrange- 
ments were  fully  perfected  by  Wednesday  morning; 


148       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH. 

but  for  some  hours  the  state  of  the  weather  rendered 
it  doubtful  whether  operations  could  be  safely  pro- 
ceeded with.  Toward  the  afternoon  the  breeze  calmed 
down,  and  at  two  o'clock  it  was  decided  that  an  effort 
should  be  made  to  land  the  cable  at  once.  The  pro- 
cess of  uncoiling  into  the  small  boats  commenced  at 
half-past  two,  and  the  scene  at  this  period  was  grand 
and  exciting  in  the  highest  degree. 

"  Yalentia  Bay  was  studded  with  innumerable  small 
craft,  decked  with  the  gayest  bunting — small  boats 
flitted  hither  and  thither,  their  occupants  cheering 
enthusiastically  as  the  work  successfully  progressed. 
The  cable  boats  were  managed  by  the  sailors  of  the 
Niagara  and  Susquehanna,  and  it  was  a  well-designed 
compliment,  and  indicative  of  the  future  fraternization 
of  the  nations,  that  the  shore  rope  was  arranged  to  be 
presented  at  this  side  the  Atlantic  to  the  representative 
of  the  Queen,  by  the  officers  and  men  of  the  United 
States  navy,  and  that  at  the  other  side  British  officers 
and  sailors  should  make  a  similar  presentation  to  the 
President  of  the  great  Eepublic. 

"From  the  main  land  the  operations  were  watched 
with  intense  interest.  For  several  hours  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  stood  on  the  beach,  surrounded  by  his  staft 
and  the  directors  of  the  railway  and  telegraph  com- 
panies, waiting  the  arrival  of  the  cable,  and  when  at 
length  the  American  sailprs  jumped  through  the  surge 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAm.       149 

with  the  hawser  to  which  it  was  attached,  his  Excel- 
lency was  among  the  first  to  lay  hold  of  it  and  pull  it 
lustily  to  the  shore.  Indeed  every  one  present  seemed 
desirous  of  having  a  hand  in  the  great  work ;  and 
never  before  perhaps  were  there  so  many  willing  as- 
sistants, at  'the  long  pull,  the  strong  pull,  and  the 
pull  altogether.' 

11  At  half-past  seven  o'clock  the  cable  was  hauled 
on  shore,  and  formal  presentation  was  made  of  it  to 
the  Lord  Lieutenant  by  Captain  Pennoclr,  of  the  Ni- 
agara; his  Excellency  expressing  a  hope  that  the 
work  so  well  begun  would  be  carried  to  a  satisfactory 
completion." 

The  wire  having  been  secured  to  a  house  on  the 
beach,  the  Eeverend  Mr.  Day,  of  Kenmore,  advanced 
and  offered  the  following  prayer : 

"  0  Eternal  Lord  God,  who  alone  spreadest  out  the 
heavens,  and  rulest  the  raging  of  the  sea ;  who  hast 
compassed  the  waters  with  bounds,  till  day  and  night 
come  to  an  end ;  and  whom  the  winds  and  the  sea 
obey ;  look  down  in  mercy,  we  beseech  thee,  upon  us 
thy  servants,  who  now  approach  the  throne  of  grace ; 
and  let  our  prayer  ascend  before  thee  with  acceptance. 
Thou  hast  commanded  and  encouraged  us,  in  all  our 
ways,  to  acknowledge  thee,  and  to  commit  our  works 
to  thee ;  and  thou  hast  graciously  promised  to  direct 
our  paths,  and  to  prosper  our  handiwork.  We  desire 


150       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

now  to  look  up  to  thee;  and  believing  that  without 
thy  help  and  blessing,  nothing  can  prosper  or  succeed, 
we  humbly  commit  this  work,  and  all  who  are  en- 
gaged in  it,  to  thy  care  and  guidance.  Let  it  please 
thee  to  grant  to  us  thy  servants  wisdom  and  power,  to 
complete  what  we  have  been  led  by  thy  Providence  to 
undertake;  that  being  begun  and  carried  on  in  the 
spirit  of  prayer,  and  in  dependence  upon  thee,  it  may 
tend  to  thy  glory :  and  to  the  good  of  all  nations,  by 
promoting  the  increase  of  unity,  peace,  and  concord. 

"Overrule,  we  pray  thee,  every  obstacle,  and  re- 
move every  difficulty  which  would  prevent  us  from 
succeeding  in  this  important  undertaking.  Control 
the  winds  and  the  sea  by  thy  Almighty  power,  and 
grant  us  such  favorable  weather  that  we  may  be  en- 
abled to  lay  the  Cable  safely  and  effectually.  And 
may  thy  hand  of  power  and  mercy  be  so  acknow- 
ledged by  all,  that  the  language  of  every  heart  may 
be,  c  Not  unto  us,  0  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  unto  thy 
name  give  glory,'  that  so  thy  name  may  be  hallowed 
and  magnified  in  us  and  by  us. 

"Finally,  we  beseech  thee  to  implant  within  us  a 
spirit  of  humanity  and  childlike  dependence  upon 
thee ;  and  teach  us  to  feel  as  well  as  to  say,  *  If  tho 
Lord  will,  we  shall  do  this  or  that' 

"Hear  us,  0  Lord,  and  answer  us  in  these  our 
petitions,  according  to  thy  precious  promise  for  Jesus 
Christ's  sake.  Amen." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        151 

The  Lord  Lieutenant  then  spoke  once  more — words 
that  amid  such  a  scene  and  at  such  an  hour,  sank  into 
all  hearts  : 

"My  American,  English,  and  Irish  friends,  I  feel  at 
such  a  moment  as  this  that  no  language  of  mine  can 
be  becoming  except  that  of  prayer  and  praise.  How- 
ever, it  is  allowable  to  any  human  lips,  though  they 
have  not  been  specially  qualified  for  the  office,  to  raise 
the  ascription  of  'Glory  to  God  in  the  highest;  on 
earth  peace,  good- will  to  men.'  That,  I  believe,  is  the 
spirit  in  which  this  great  work  has  been  undertaken  ; 
and  it  is  this  reflection  that  encourages  me  to  feel  con- 
fident hopes  in  its  final  success.  I  believe  that  the 
great  work  now  so  happily  begun  will  accomplish 
many  great  and  noble  purposes  of  trade,  of  national 
policy,  and  of  empire.  But  there  is  only  one  view  in 
which  I  will  present  it  to  those  whom  I  have  the 
pleasure  to  address.  You  are  aware — you  must  know, 
some  of  you,  from  your  own  experience — that  many 
of  your  dear  friends  and  near  relatives  have  left  their 
native  land  to  receive  hospitable  shelter  in  America. 
Well,  then,  I  do  not  expect  that  all  of  you  can  under- 
stand the  wondrous  mechanism  by  which  this  great 
undertaking  is  to  be  carried  on.  But  this,  I  think 
you  all  of  you  understand.  If  you  wished  to  com- 
municate some' piece  of  intelligence  straightway  to 
your  relatives  across  the  wide  world  of  waters — if  you 


152       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

wished  to  tell  those  whom  you  know  it  would  interest 
in  their  heart  of  hearts,  of  a  birth,  or  a  marriage,  or, 
alas,  a  death,  among  you,  the  little  cord,  which  we 
have  now  hauled  up  to  the  shore,  will  impart  that 
tidings  quicker  than  the  flash  of  the  lightning.  Let 
us  indeed  hope,  let  us  pray  that  the  hopes  of  those 
who  have  set  on  foot  this  great  design,  may  be  re- 
warded by  its  entire  success ;  and  let  us  hope,  fur- 
ther, that  this  Atlantic  Cable  will,  in  all  future  time, 
serve  as  an  emblem  of  that  strong  cord  of  love  which 
I  trust  will  always  unite  the  British  islands  to  the 
great  continent  of  America.  And  you  will  join  me  in 
my  fervent  wish  that  the  Giver  of  all  Good,  who  has 
enabled  some  of  his  servants  to  discern  so  much  of  the 
working  of  the  mighty  laws  by  which  he  fills  the  uni- 
verse, will  further  so  bless  this  wonderful  work,  as  to 
make  it  even  more  to  serve  the  high  purpose  of  the 
good  of  man,  and  tend  to  his  great  glory.  And  now, 
all  my  friends,  as  there  can  be  no  project  or  under- 
taking which  ought  not  to  receive  the  approbation  and 
applause  of  the  people,  will  you  join  with  me  in  giv- 
ing three  hearty  cheers  for  it?  [Loud  cheering.] 
Three  cheers  are  not  enough  for  me — they  are  what 
we  give  on  common  occasions — and  as  it  is  for  the 
success  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Cable,  I  must  have 
at  least  one  dozen  cheers.  [Loud  and  protracted 
cheering.]" 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       153 

Mr.  Brooking,  the  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company,  then  ex- 
pressed the  thanks  which  all  felt,  to  the  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant, for  his  presence  on  that  occasion. 

Then  there  were  loud  calls  for  Mr.  Field.  He 
answered  in  a  few  short  sentences : 

"  I  have  no  words  to  express  the  feelings  which  fill 
my  heart  to-night — it  beats  with  love  and  affection  for 
every  man,  woman  and  child  who  hears  me.  I  may 
say,  however,  that,  if  ever  at  the  other  side  of  the 
waters  now  before  us,  any  one  of  you  shall  present 
yourselves  at  my  door  and  say  that  you  took  hand  or 
part,  even  by  an  approving  smile,  in  our  work  here 
to-day,  you  shall  have  a  true  American  welcome.  I 
cannot  bind  myself  to  more,  and  shall  merely  say  : 
iWhat  God  has  joined  together,  let  not  man  put 
asunder.' " 

Thus  closed  this  most  interesting  scene.  The  Lord 
Lieutenant  was  obliged  to  return  at  once  to  the  cap- 
ital. He  therefore  left,  and  posted  that  night  to  Kil- 
larney,  and  the  next  day  returned  by  special  train  to 
Dublin,  leaving  the  ships  to  complete  the  work  so 
happily  begun. 

The  landing  of  the  cable  took  place  on  "Wednesday, 
the  fifth  of  August,  near  the  hour  of  sunset.  As  it 
was  too  late  to  proceed  that  evening,  the  ships  remained 
at  anchor  till  the  morning.  They  got  under  weigh  at 


154:       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

an  early  hour,  but  were  soon  checked  by  an  accident 
which  detained  them  another  day.  Before  they  had 
gone  five  miles,  the  heavy  shore  end  of  the  cable 
caught  in  the  machinery  and  parted.  The  Niagara 
put  back,  and  the  cable  was  "underrun"  the  whole 
distance.  At  length  the  end  was  lifted  out  of  the 
water  and  spliced  to  the  gigantic  coil,  and  as  it  drop- 
ped safely  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  the  mighty  ship 
began  to  stir.  At  first  she  moved  very  slowly,  not 
more  than  two  miles  an  hour,  to  avoid  the  darfger  of 
accident ;  but  the  feeling  that  they  are  at  last  away  is 
itself  a  relief.  The  ships  are  all  in  sight,  and  so  near 
that  they  can  hear  each  other's  bells.  The  Niagara,  as 
if  knowing  that  she  is  bound  for  the  land  out  of  whose 
forests  she  came,  bends  her  head  to  the  waves,  as  her 
prow  is  turned  toward  her  native  shores. 

Slow  passed  the  hours  of  that  day.  But  all  went 
well,  and  the  ships  were  moving  out  into  the  broad 
Atlantic.  At  length  the  sun  went  down  in  the  west, 
and  stars  came  out  on  the  face  of  the  deep.  But  no 
man  slept.  A  thousand  eyes  were  watching  a  great 
experiment  as  those  who  have  a  personal  interest  in 
the  issue.  All  through  that  night,  and  through  the 
anxious  days  and  nights  that  followed,  there  was  a 
feeling  in  every  soul  on  board,  as  if  a  friend  in  the 
cabin  were  at  the  turning-point  of  life  or  death,  and 
they  were  watching  beside  him.  There  was  a  strange, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       155 

unnatural  silence  in  the  ship.  Men  paced  the  deck 
with  soft  and  muffled  tread,  speaking  only  in  whispers, 
as  if  a  loud  voice  or  a  heavy  footfall  might  snap  the 
vital  chord.  So  much  had  they  grown  to  feel  for  the 
enterprise,  that  the  cable  seemed  to  them  like  a  hu- 
man creature,  on  whose  fate  they  hung,  as  if  it  were  to 
decide  their  own  destiny. 

There  are  some  who  will  never  forget  that  first 
night  at  sea.  Perhaps  the  reaction  from  the  excite- 
ment on  shore  made  the  impression  the  deeper.  What 
strange  thoughts  came  to  them  as  they  stood  on  the 
deck  and  watched  that  mysterious  chord  disappearing 
in  the  darkness,  and  gliding  to  its  ocean  bed !  There 
are  certain  moments  in  life  when  every  thing  comes 
back  upon  us,  when  the  events  of  years  seem  crowded 
into  an  hour.  What  memories  came  up  in  those  long 
night  hours !  How  many  on  board  that  ship  thought 
of  homes  beyond  the  sea,  of  absent  ones,  of  the  distant 
and  the  dead!  Such  thoughts,  mingling  with  those 
suggested  by  the  scene  around,  added  to  the  solem- 
nity of  the  hour,  and  left  an  impression  which  can 
never  be  forgotten. 

But  with  the  work  in  hand  all  is  going  on  well. 
There  are  vigilant  eyes  on  deck.     Mr.  Bright,  the  en 
gineer  of  the  Company,  is  there,  and  Mr.  Everett,  Mr) 
De  Sauty,  the  electrician,  and  Professor  Morse.     The 
paying-out  machinery  does  its  work,  and  though  it 


156       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGKArH. 

makes  a  constant  rumble  in  the  ship,  that  dull,  heavy 
sound  is  music  to  their  ears,  as  it  tells  them  that  all  is 
well.  If  one  should  drop  to  sleep,  and  wake  up  at 
night,  he  has  only  to  hear  the  sound  of  "  the  old  coffee- 
mill,"  and  his  fears  are  relieved,  and  he  goes  to  sleep 
again. 

Saturday  was  a  day  of  beautiful  weather.  The 
ships  were  getting  farther  away  from  land,  and  began 
to  steam  ahead  at  the  rate  of  four  and  five  miles 
an  hour.  The  cable  was  paid  out  at  a  speed  a  little 
faster  than  that  of  the  ship,  to  allow  for  any  inequali- 
ties of  surface  on  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  While  it  was 
thus  going  overboard,  communication  was  kept  up 
constantly  with  the  land.  Every  moment  the  current 
was  passing  between  ship  and  shore.  The  communi- 
cation was  as  perfect  as  between  Liverpool  and  Lon- 
don, or  Boston  and  New- York.  Not  only  did  the  elec- 
tricians telegraph  back  to  Valentia  the  progress  they 
were  making,  but  the  officers  on  board  sent  messages 
to  their  friends  in  America,  to  go  out  by  the  steamers 
from  Liverpool.  The  heavens  seemed  to  smile  on 
them  that  day.  The  coils  came  up  from  below  the 
deck  without  a  kink,  and  unwinding  themselves  easily, 
passed  over  the  stern  into  the  sea.  Once  or  twice  an 
alarm  was  created  by  the  cable  being  thrown  off  the 
whee]s.  This  was  owing  to  the  sheaves  not  being 
wide  enough  and  deep  enough,  and  being  filled  with 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        157 

tar,  which  hardened  in  the  air.  This  was  a  great  de- 
fect of  the  machinery  which  was  remedied  in  the  later 
expeditions.  Still  it  worked  well,  and  so  long  as  those 
terrible  brakes  kept  off  their  iron  gripe,  it  might  work 
through  to  the  end. 

All  day  Sunday  the  same  favoring  fortune  con- 
tinued ;  and  when  the  officers,  who  could  be  spared 
from  the  deck,  met  in  the  cabin,  and  Captain  Hudson 
read  the  service,  it  was  with  subdued  voices  and  grate- 
ful hearts  they  responded  to  the  prayers  to  Him  who 
spreadeth  out  the  heavens,  and  ruleth  the  raging  of 
the  sea. 

On  Monday  they  were  over  two  hundred  miles  to 
sea.  They  had  got  far  beyond  the  shallow  waters  off 
the  coast.  They  had  passed  over  the  submarine 
mountain  which  figures  on  the  charts  of  Dayman  and 
Berryman,  and  where  Mr.  Bright's  log  gives  a  descent 
from  five  hundred  and  fifty  to  seventeen  hundred  and 
fifty  fathoms  within  eight  miles  I  Then  they  came  to 
the  deeper  waters  of  the  Atlantic,  where  the  cable 
sank  to  the  awful  depth  of  two  thousand  fathoms. 
Still  the  iron  cord  buried  itself  in  the  waves,  and 
every  instant  the  flash  of  light  in  the  darkened  tele- 
graph room  told  of  the  passage  of  the  electric  current. 

But  Monday  evening,  about  nine  o'clock,  occurred 
a  mysterious  interruption,  which  staggered  all  on 
board.  Suddenly  the  electrical  continuity  was  lost 


158       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

The  cable  was  not  broken,  but  it  ceased  to  work. 
Here  was  a  mystery.  De  Sauty  tried  it,  and  Professor 
Morse  tried  it.  But  neither  could  make  it  work.  It 
seemed  that  all  was  over.  The  electricians  gave  it  up, 
and  the  engineers  were  preparing  to  cut  the  cable,  and 
to  endeavor  to  wind  it  in,  when  suddenly  the  electricity 
came  lack  again.  This  made  the  mystery  greater  than 
ever.  It  had  been  interrupted  for  two  hours  and  a 
half.  This  was  a  phenomenon  which  has  never  been 
explained.  Professor  Morse  was  of  opinion  that  the 
cable,  in  getting  off  the  wheels,  had  been  strained  so 
as  to  open  the  gutta-percha,  and  thus  destroy  the  in- 
sulation. If  this  be  the  true  explanation,  it  would 
seem  that  on  reaching  the  bottom  the  seam  had  closed, 
and  thus  the  continuity  had  been  restored.  But  it 
was  certainly  an  untoward  incident,  which  "  cast 
ominous  conjecture  on  the  whole  success,"  as  it  seem- 
ed to  indicate  that  there  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea 
causes  which  were  wholly  unknown  and  against  which 
it  was  impossible  to  provide. 

The  return  of  the  current  was  like  life  from  the 
dead.  Says  Mullaly:  "The  glad  news  was  soon  cir- 
culated throughout  the  ship,  and  all  felt  as  if  they  had 
been  imbued  with  a  new  life.  A  rough,  weather- 
beaten  old  sailor,  who  had  assisted  in  coiling  many  a 
long  mile  of  it  on  board  the  Niagara,  and  who  was 
among  the  first  to  run  to  the  telegraph  office  to  have 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       159 

the  news  confirmed,  said  he  would  have  given  fifty 
dollars  out  of  his  pay  to  have  saved  that  cable.  '  I 
have  watched  nearly  every  mile  of  it,'  he  added,  '  as  it 
came  over  the  side,  and  I  would  have  given  fifty  dol- 
lars, poor  a  man  as  I  am,  to  have  saved  it,  although  I 
don't  expect  to  make  any  thing  by  it  when  it  is  laid 
down.'  In  his  own  simple  way  he  expressed  the  feel- 
ings of  every  one  on  board,  for  all  are  as  much  inter- 
ested in  the  success  of  the  enterprise  as  the  largest 
shareholder  in  the  Company.  They  talked  of  the 
cable  as  they  would  of  a  pet  child,  and  never  was 
child  treated  with  deeper  solicitude  than  that  with 
which  the  cable  is  watched  by  them.  You  could  see 
the  tears  standing  in  the  eyes  of  some  as  they  almost 
cried  for  joy,  and  told  their  messmates  that  it  was  all 
right."  It  was  indeed  a  great  relief;  and  though  still 
anxious,  after  watching  till  past  midnight,  a  few  crept 
to  their  couches,  to  snatch  an  hour  or  two  of  broken 
sleep.  But  before  the  morning  broke,  the  hopes  thus 
revived  were  again  and  finally  destroyed. 

It  seems  that  the  cable  was  running  out  freely  at 
the  rate  of  six  miles  an  hour,  while  the  ship  was  ad- 
vancing but  about  four.  This  was  supposed  to  bo 
owing  to  a  powerful  under-current.  To  check  this 
waste,  the  engineer  applied  the  brakes  firmly,  which 
at  once  stopped  the  machine.  The  effect  was  to  bring 
a  heavy  strain  on  the  cable  that  was  in  the  water. 


160       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

The  stern  of  the  ship  was  down  in  the  trough,  of  the 
sea,  and  as  it  rose  upward  on  the  swell,  the  pressure 
was  too  great,  and  the  cable  parted. 

Instantly  ran  through  the  ship  a  cry  of  grief  and 
dismay.  She  was  stopped  in  her  onward  path,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  all  gathered  on  deck  with  feelings 
which  may  be  imagined.  One  who  was  present 
wrote  :  "  The  unbidden  tear  started  to  many  a  manly 
eye.  The  interest  taken  in  the  enterprise  by  all, 
every  one,  officers  and  men,  exceeded  any  thing  I 
ever  saw,  and  there  is  no  wonder  that  there  should 
have  been  so  much  emotion  at  our  failure."  Captain 
Hudson  says:  "It  made  all  hands  of. us  through  the 
day  like  a  household  or  family  which  had  lost  their 
dearest  friend,  for  officers  and  men  had  been  deeply 
interested  in  the  success  of  the  enterprise." 

There  was  nothing  left  but  to  return  to  England. 
The  course  decided  upon,  is  thus  stated  in  a  private 
letter  of  Mr.  Field,  which,  though  intended  only  for 
his  family,  may  be  interesting  to  others  : 


H.  M.  STEAMER  LEOPARD,  Thursday,  ) 
August  13,  1857.  ) 


•'  The  successful  laying  down  of  the  Atlantic  Tel- 
egraph Cable  is  put  off  for  a  short  time,  but  its  final 
triumph  has  been  fully  proved,  by  the  experience  that 
we  have  had  since  we  left  Yalentia.  My  confidence 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        1G1 

was  never  so  strong  as  at  the  present  time,  and  I  feel 
sure,  that  with  God's  blessing,  we  shall  connect  Eu- 
rope and  America  with  the  electric  cord. 

"After  having  successfully  laid — and  part  of  the 
time  while  a  heavy  sea  was  running — three  hundred 
and  thirty-five  miles  of  the  cable,  and  over  one  hun- 
dred miles  of  it  in  water  more  than  two  miles  in 
depth,  the  brakes  were  applied  more  firmly,  by  order 
of  Mr.  Bright,  the  engineer,  to  prevent  the  cable  from 
going  out  so  fast,  and  it  parted. 

"I  retired  to  my  state-room  at  a  little  after  midnight 
Monday,  all  going  on  well,  and  at  a  quarter  before 
four  o'clock  on  Tuesday  morning,  the  eleventh  in- 
stant, I  was  awoke  from  my  sleep  by  the  cry  of  Stop 
her,  back  her!  and  in  a  moment  Mr.  Bright  was  in  my 
room,  with  the  sad  intelligence  that  the  cable  was  bro- 
ken. In  as  short  a  time  as  possible  I  was  dressed, 
and  on  deck ;  and  Captain  Hudson  at  once  signaled 
the  other  steamers  that  the  cable  had  parted,  and  in  a 
few  moments  Captain  "Wainwright,  of  the  Leopard, 
and  Captain  Sands,  of  the  Susquehanna,  were  on 
board  of  the  Niagara. 

"  I  requested  Captain  Wainwright,  the  Commander 
of  the  English  Telegraph  Fleet,  to  order  the  Agamem- 
non to  remain  with  the  Niagara  and  Susquehanna,  in 
this  deep  part  of  the  Atlantic  for  a  few  days,  to  try 
certain  experiments  which  will  be  of  great  value  to 


162       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

us,  and  then  sail  with  them  back  to  England,  and  all 
wait  at  Plymouth  until  further  orders.  I  further  re- 
quested Captain  Wainwright  to  order  the  Cyclops  to 
sound  here  where  the  cable  parted,  and  then  steam 
back  to  Yalentia,  with  letters  from  me  to  Dr.  White- 
house,  and  Mr.  Saward,  the  Secretary  of  the  Atlantic 
Telegraph  Company ;  and  that  he  should  take  me  in 
the  Leopard  as  soon  as  possible  to  Portsmouth. 

"  All  of  my  requests  were  cheerfully  complied  with, 
and  in  a  few  hours  the  Cyclops  had  sounded,  and 
found  the  bottom  at  two  thousand  fathoms,  and  was 
on  her  way  back  to  Valentia  with  letters  from  me  ; 
the  Niagara  and  the  Agamemnon  were  connected  to- 
gether by  the  cable,  and  engaged  in  trying  experi- 
ments ;  the  Susquehanna  in  attendance,  and  the  Leo- 
pard, with  your  affectionate on  board,  on  her 

way  back  to  England. 

"  In  my  letter  to  Dr.  Whitehouse  I  requested  him 
to  telegraph  to  London,  and  have  a  special  meeting  of 
the  Directors  called  for  twelve  o'clock  on  Saturday,  to 
decide  whether  we  would  have  more  cable  made  at 
once,  and  try  again  this  season,  or  wait  until  next 
year. 

"I  shall  close  this  letter  on  board,  so  as  to  have  it 
ready  to  mail  the  moment  we  arrive  at  Portsmouth, 
as  I  wish  to  leave  by  the  very  next  train  for  London, 
so  as  to  be  there  in  time  to  meet  the  Directors  Satur- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       163 

day  noon,  and  read  them  my  report,  which  I  am  busy 
making  up. 

"  Do  not  think  that  I  feel  discouraged,  or  am  in  low 
spirits,  for  I  am  not ;  and  I  think  I  can  see  how  this 
accident  will  be  of  great  advantage  to  the  Atlantic 
Telegraph  Company. 

"All  the  officers  and  men  on  board  of  the  Tel- 
egraph Fleet,  seem  to  take  the  greatest  interest  in  our 
enterprise,  and  are  very  desirous  to  go  out  in  the  ships 
the  next  time. 

"Since  my  arrival,  I  have  received  the  greatest 
kindness  and  attention  from  all  whom  I  have  me^ 
from  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  down  to  the 
cabin-boys  and  sailors.  The  inclosed  letter  from  the 
Knight  of  Kerry,  I  received  with  a  basket  of  hot- 
house fruit,  just  as  we  were  getting  ready  to  leave 
Yalentia  harbor.  Your  - 

"  CYRUS  W.  FIELD." 

The  day  that  this  was  written,  Mr.  Field  landed  at 
Portsmouth,  and  at  once  hastened  to  London  to  meet 
the  Directors.  At  first  it  was  a  question  if  they  should 
renew  the  expedition  this  year.  But  their  brief  expe- 
rience had  shown  the  need  of  more  ample  preparations 
for  their  next  attempt.  They  required  six  hundred 
miles  more  of  cable  to  make  up  for  over  three  hun 
dred  lost  in  the  sea,  and  to  provide  a  surplus  so  as  to 
run  no  risk  of  falling  short  from  other  accidents  ;  and 


16i       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

especially  they  needed  better  machinery  to  pay  out 
the  cable  into  the  ocean.  These  preparations  requir- 
ed time,  and  before  they  could  be  made,  it  would  be 
late  in  the  autumn.  Hence  they  reluctantly  decided 
to  defer  the  expedition  till  another  year.  The  Niagara 
and  the  Agamemnon  therefore  discharged  their  cable 
at  Plymouth,  whence  the  Niagara  returned  home ; 
and  Mr.  Field,  after  remaining  a  few  weeks  in  Lon- 
don to  complete  the  preparations  for  the  next  year, 
sailed  for  America. 

He  returned  to  find  that  a  commercial  hurricane 
had  swept  over  the  country,  in  which  a  thousand 
stately  fortunes  had  gone  down,  and  in  which  the 
wealth  he  had  accumulated  by  years  of  toil  had  near- 
ly suffered  shipwreck.  Such  were  the  tidings  that 
met  him  on  landing.  It  had  been  a  year  of  disap- 
pointments in  England  and  America — of  disasters  on 
land  and  sea — and  all  his  high  hopes  were 

In  the  deep  bo&m  of  the  ocean  buried. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  A  SECOND  EXPEDITION.  MR.  FIELD  is  MADE  THK 
GENERAL  MANAGER  OF  THE  COMPANY.  MR.  EVERETT  AND  THE  PAY- 
ING-OUT MACHINE.  THE  VALOROUS  TAKES  THE  PLACE  OF  THE  SUSQUE- 
IIANNA.  THE  SQUADRON  ASSEMBLE  AT  PLYMOUTH.  THEY  GO  TO  SEA, 
JUNE  10.  HEAVY  GALE.  THE  AGAMEMNON  IN  DANGER  OF  «EING 
FOUNDERED.  THE  CABLE  LOST  THREE  TIMES.  THE  SHIPS  RETURN 
TO  ENGLAND.  MEETING  OF  THE  DIRECTORS.  SHALL  THEY  ABANDON 
THE  PROJECT  ?  ONE  MORE  TRIAL. 

ALTHOUGH  the  Expedition  of  1857  really  advanced 
the  project  of  an  Atlantic  Telegraph — since  it  was  an 
experiment  on  a  grand  scale,  and  taught  many  lessons 
which  could  only  be  learned  by  experiment — still  the 
effect  was  to  weaken  public  confidence.  Hitherto  the 
enterprise  had  been  accepted  by  the  people  of  Eng- 
land and  of  America — almost  without  considering  its 
magnitude  and  difficulty.  They  had  taken  it  for 
granted  as  a  thing  which  must  some  day  be  accom- 
plished by  human  skill  and  perseverance.  This  con- 
fidence led  them  to  embark  their  means  in  it.  But 
now  it  had  been  tried  and  failed.  This  first  expedi- 
tion opened  their  eyes  to  the  vastness  of  the  undertak- 


166       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

• 

ing,  and  led  many  to  doubt  who  did  not  doubt  before. 
This  decline  of  popular  faith  was  felt  as  soon  as 
they  began  to  call  for  more  money.  People  reasoned 
that  if  the  former  attempt  was  but  an  experiment,  it 
was  rather  a  costly  one.  The  loss  of  three  hundred 
and  thirty-five  miles  of  cable,  with  the  postponement 
of  the  expedition  to  another  year,  was  equivalent  to 
a  loss  of  a  hundred  thousand  pounds.  To  make  this 
good,  the  Directors  had  to  enlarge  the  capital  of  the 
Company.  This  new  capital  was  not  so  readily  ob- 
tained. Those  who  had  subscribed  before,  thought 
they  had  lost  enough  ;  and  the  public  stood  aloof  till 
they  could  see  the  result  of  the  next  "experiment." 
The  projectors  found  that  it  was  easy  to  go  with  the 
current  of  popular  enthusiasm,  but  very  hard  to  stem  a 
growing  popular  distrust.  They  found  how  great  an 
element  of  success  in  all  public  enterprises  is  public 
confidence. 

But  against  this  very  revulsion  of  feeling  they  had 
been  already  warned.  The  Earl  of  Carlisle  the  year 
before  had  cautioned  them  against  being  too  sanguine 
of  immediate  results,  and  reminded  them  that  "prelim- 
inary failure  was  even  the  law  and  condition  of  ulti- 
mate success."  There  were  many  who  now  remember- 
ed his  words,  and  on  whom  the  lesson  was  not  lost. 

But  whatever  the  depression  at  the  failure  of  the 
first  attempt  to  lay  a  telegraph  across  the  ocean,  and 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       167 

at  the  thick-coming  disasters  on  land  and  sea,  it  did 
not  interfere  with  renewed  and  vigorous  efforts  to  pre- 
pare for  a  second  expedition.  The  Directors  gave  or- 
ders for  the  manufacture  of  seven  hundred  miles  of 
new  cable,  to  make  up  for  the  loss  of  the  previous 
year,  and  to  provide  a  surplus  against  all  contingen- 
cies. And  the  Government  promised  again  its  pow- 
erful aid. 

In  America,  Mr.  Field  went  on  to  "Washington  to  ask 
a  second  time  the  use  of  the  ships,  which  had  already 
represented  the  country  so  well.  He  made  also  a 
special  request  for  the  services  of  Mr.  William  E. 
Everett.  This  gentleman  had  been  the  Chief-En- 
gineer of  the  Niagara  the  year  before.  He  had 
watched  closely  the  paying-out  machine,  as  it  was 
put  together  on  the  deck,  and  with  the  eye  of  a  prac- 
tised mechanic,  he  saw  that  it  would  never  do.  It 
was  too  cumbrous,  had  too  many  wheels,  and  especial- 
ly its  brakes  shut  down  with  a  gripe  that  would  snap 
the  strongest  chain  cable.  Mr.  Field  saw  that  this 
was  the  man  to  remedy  the  defects  of  the  old  machine, 
and  to  make  one  that  would  work  more  smoothly. 
He  therefore  applied  especially  for  his  services.  To 
the  credit  of  the  administration,  it  granted  both  re- 
quests in  the  most  handsome  manner.  *  There,"  said 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  handing  Mr.  Field  the  offi- 
cial letter,  "  I  have  given  you  all  you  asked." 


168       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

After  such  an  answer  he  did  not  wait  long.  The 
letter  is  dated  the  thirtieth  of  December,  and  in  j  ust 
one  week,  on  the  sixth  of  January,  he  sailed  in  the 
Persia  for  England  with  Mr.  Everett.  Scarcely  had 
he  arrived  in  London  before  he  was  made  the  General 
Manager  of  the  Company,  with  control  of  the  entire 
staff,  including  electricians  and  engineers.  The  fol- 
lowing extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  Board  of  Di- 
rectors, dated  January  27,  1858,  explains  the  new 
position  to  which  he  was  invited : 

"  The  Directors  having  for  several  months  felt  that 
it  would  greatly  advance  the  interests  of  this  enter- 
prise, if  Mr.  Cyrus  "W.  Field,  of  New- York,  could  be 
induced  to  come  over  to  England,  for  the  purpose  of 
undertaking  the  general  management  and  supervision 
of  all  the  various  arrangements  that  would  be  required 
to  be  carried  out  before  the  sailing  of  the  next  expedi- 
tion ;  application  was  made  to  Mr.  Field,  with  the  view 
of  securing  his  consent  to  the  proposal,  and  he  arrived 
in  this  country  on  the  sixteenth  instant,  when  it  was 
ascertained  that  he  would  be  willing,  if  unanimously 
desired  by  the  Directors,  to  act  in  behalf  of  the  Com- 
pany as  proposed;  and  Mr.  Field  having  retired,  it  was 
unanimously  resolved  to  tender  him,  in  respect  to 
such  services,  the  sum  of  £1000  over  and  above  his 
travelling  and  other  expenses,  as  remuneration." 

This  resolution  was  at  once  communicated  to  Mr. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       169 

Field,  who  replied  that  lie  would  undertake  the  duties 
of  General  Manager,  but  declined  the  offer  of  £1000, 
preferring  to  give  his  services  to  the  Company  without 
any  compensation.  "Whereupon  the  Directors  imme- 
diately passed  another  resolution : 

"  That  Mr.  Field's  kind  and  generous  offer  be  ac- 
cepted by  this  Board ;  and  that  their  best  thanks  are 
hereby  tendered  to  him  for  his  devotion  to  the  inter- 
ests of  this  undertaking." 

The  following,  passed  a  few  weeks  later,  on  the 
twenty-sixth  of  March,  was  designed  to  emphasize  the 
authority  given  over  all  the  employes  of  the  Company : 

"  Resolved,  That  Mr.  Cyrus  W.  Field,  General  Man- 
ager of  the  Company,  is  hereby  authorized  and  em- 
powered to  give  such  directions  and  orders  to  the  offi- 
cers composing  the  staff  of  the  Company,  as  he  may 
from  time  to  time  deem  necessary  and  expedient  with 
regard  to  all  matters  connected  with  the  business  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Company,  subject  to  the  control  of  the 
Directors. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  staff  of  the  Company  be  noti- 
fied hereof,  and  required  to  observe  and  follow  such 
directions  as  may  be  issued  by  the  General  Manager." 

As   Mr.  Field  was  thus    invested  with  the  entire 

charge  of  the  preparations  for  the  next  expedition,  he 

was  made  responsible  for  it,  and  felt  it  due  alike  to 

himself  and  to  the  Company  to  omit  no  means  to  in- 

8 


170       HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

sure  success.  It  was  therefore  bis  duty  to  examine 
into  every  detail.  The  manufacture  of  the  new  cable 
was  already  under  way,  and  there  was  no  opportu- 
nity to  make  any  change  in  its  construction,  even  if 
any  had  been  desired.  But  there  was  another  matter 
which  was  quite  as  important  to  success — the  construc- 
tion of  the  paying-out  machines.  This  had  been  the 
great  defect  of  the  previous  year,  and,  while  it  con- 
tinued, would  render  success  almost  impossible.  No 
matter  how  many  hundreds  or  thousands  of  miles  of 
cable  might  be  made,  if  the  machinery  was  not  fitted 
to  pay  it  out  into  the  sea,  it  would  be  constantly 
broken.  To  remedy  these  defects  was  an  object  of 
anxious  solicitude,  and  to  this  the  new  manager  gave 
his  first  attention.  Hardly  was  he  in  London  before 
Mr.  Everett  was  installed  at  the  large  machine  works 
of  Easton  and  Amos,  in  South wark,  where,  surrounded 
by  plans  and  models,  he  devoted  himself  for  three 
months  to  studying  out  a  better  invention  for  this 
most  important  work.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  had 
a  model  complete,  and  invited  a  number  of  the  most 
eminent  engineers  of  London  to  witness  its  operation. 
Among  these  were  Mr.  Brunei,  and  Messrs.  Lloyd, 
Penn,  and  Field,  who  had  given  the  enterprise  the 
benefit  of  their  counsel  for  months,  refusing  all  com- 
pensation ;  Mr.  Charles  T.  Bright,  the  engineer  of  the 
Company,  and  his  two  assistants,  Mr.  Canning  and  Mr 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        171 

Clifford,  and  Mr.  Follansbee,  Chief-Engineer  of  the 
Niagara,  the  place  which  Mr.  Everett  had  occupied 
the  year  before.  The  machine  was  set  in  motion,  and 
all  saw  its  operation,  while  Mr.  Everett  explained  its 
parts,  and  the  difficulties  which  he  had  tried  to  over- 
come. It  was  obvious  at  a  glance  that  it  was  an  im- 
mense improvement  on  that  of  the  former  year.  It 
was  much  smaller  and  lighter.  It  would  take  up  only 
about  one  third  as  much  room  on  the  deck,  and  had 
only  one  fourth  the  weight  of  the  old  machine.  Its 
construction  was  much  more  simple.  Instead  of  four 
heavy  wheels,  it  had  but  two,  and  these  were  made  to 
revolve  with  ease,  and  without  danger  of  sudden 
check,  by  the  application  of  what  were  known  as  self- 
releasing  brakes.  These  were  the  invention  of  Mr. 
Appold,  of  London,  a  gentleman  of  fortune,  but  with 
a  strong  taste  for  mechanics,  which  led  him  to  spend 
his  time  and  wealth  in  exercising  his  mechanical  inge- 
nuity. These  brakes  were  so  adjusted  as  to  bear  only 
a  certain  strain,  when  they  released  themselves.  This 
ingenious  contrivance  was  applied  by  Mr.  Everett  to 
the  paying-out  machinery.  The  strength  of  the  cable 
was  such  that  it  would  not  break  except  under  a  pres- 
sure of  a  little  over  three  tons.  The  machinery  was 
so  adjusted  that  not  more  than  half  that  strain  could 
possibly  come  upon  the  cable,  when  the  brakes  would 
relax  their  grasp,  the  wheels  revolve  easily,  and  the 


172       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

cable  run  out  into  the  sea  "at  its  own  sweet  will." 
The  paying-out  machine,  therefore,  we  are  far  from 
claiming  as  wholly  an  American  invention.  This  part 
of  the  mechanism  was  English.  The  merit  of  Mr. 
Everett  lay  in  the  skill  with  which  he  adapted  it  to  the 
laying  of  the  Atlantic  cable,  and  in  his  great  improve- 
ments of  other  parts  of  the  machinery.  The  whole 
construction,  as  it  afterwards  stood  upon  the  decks  of 
the  Niagara  and  the  Agamemnon,  was  the  combined 
product  of  English  and  American  invention.  The 
engineers,  who  now  saw  it  for  the  first  time,  were  de- 
lighted. It  seemed  to  have  the  intelligence  of  a  hu- 
man being,  to  know  when  to  hold  on,  and  when  to  let 
go.  All  felt  that  the  great  difficulty  in  laying  the 
cable  was  removed,  and  that  under  this  gentle  mani- 
pulation it  would  glide  easily  and  smoothly  from  the 
ship  into  the  sea. 

"While  these  preparations  were  going  on  in  London, 
the  Niagara,  which  did  not  leave  New- York  till  the 
ninth  of  March,  arrived  at  Plymouth,  under  command 
of  Captain  Hudson,  to  take  on  board  her  share  of  the 
cable.  Both  ships  had  discharged  their  burden  at 
Keyham  Docks,  where  the  precious  freight  was  passed 
through  a  composition  of  tar  and  pitch  and  linseed- 
oil  and  beeswax,  to  preserve  it  from  injury,  and  then 
had  been  coiled  under  cover  to  be  kept  safely  through 
the  winter.  The  Agamemnon  was  already  at  Plymouth, 


HISTORY   OF   THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.        173 

Laving  been  designated  by  the  Admiralty  again  to  take 
part  in  the  work — though  under  a  new  commander, 
Captain  George  W.  Preedy,  a  very  excellent  officer. 
The  place  of  the  Leopard  was  taken  by  the  Gorgon, 
under  command  of  Captain  Dayman,  who  had  made 
the  deep-sea  soundings  in  the  Cyclops  the  year  before. 
While  the  English  Government  was  thus  prompt  in 
furnishing  its  ships,  news  arrived  from  America  that 
the  Company  could  not  have  again  the  assistance  of 
the  Susquehanna,  which  had  accompanied  the  Niagara 
the  year  before.  She  was  in  the  West-Indies,  and  the 
yellow  fever  had  broken  out  on  board.  What  should 
be  done  ?  It  was  late  to  apply  again  to  the  American 
Government,  and  it  was  doubtful  what  would  be  the 
result  of  the  application.  This  threatened  some  em- 
barrassment. Mr.  Field  resolved  the  difficulty  in  a 
way  which  showed  his  confidence  in  the  great  and  gen- 
erous Government  on  the  other  side  of  the  water,  with 
which  he  had  occasion  so  often  to  deal.  Without  wait- 
ing for  the  action  of  the  Company,  he  called  a  cab, 
and  drove  straight  to  the  Admiralty,  and  sent  in  his 
card  to  Sir  John  Pakington,  then  first  Lord  of  the 
Admiralty.  This  gentleman,  like  his  predecessor,  Sir 
Charles  Wood,  had  shown  the  most  friendly  interest 
in  the  Atlantic  Telegraph,  and  given  it  his  warmest 
support.  Mr.  Field  was  received  at  once,  arid  began 
with  true  American  eagerness  :  "  I  am  ashamed  to 


174       HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

come  to  you,  after  what  the  English  Government  has 
done  for  the  Atlantic  Telegraph.  But  here  is  our  case. 
We  are  disappointed  in  the  Susquehanna.  She  is  in 
the  West-Indies,  with  the  yellow  fever  on  board.  She 
cannot  come  to  England  to  take  part  in  the  expedi- 
tion. Can  you  do  anything  for  us?"  Sir  John  re- 
\  lied  that  the  Government  had  not  ships  enough  for 
its  own  use ;  that  it  was  at  that  very  moment  charter- 
ing vessels  to  take  troops  to  Malta — "  but  he  would  see 
what  he  could  do."  In  an  hour  or  two  he  sent  word  to 
the  office  of  the  Company,  that  Her  Majesty's  ship 
Valorous — commanded  by  Captain  W.  C.  Aldham,  an 
officer  of  great  experience — had  been  ordered  to  take 
the  place  of  the  Susquehanna  in  the  next  expedition. 
We  mention  this  little  incident,  not  so  much  to  illus- 
trate Mr.  Field's  prompt  and  quick  manner  of  decid- 
ing and  acting,  as  to  show  the  noble  and  generous 
spirit  in  which  the  English  Government  responded  to 
every  appeal. 

The  reshipping  of  the  cable  at  Plymouth  occupied 
the  whole  month  of  April  and  part  of  May.  Some 
changes  were  made  in  the  mode  adopted,  it  being 
coiled  around  large  cones.  The  work  was  done  as 
before,  by  a  hundred  and  sixty  men  detailed  for  th 
purpose,  of  whom  one  fourth  were  the  workmen  of 
the  Company,  and  the  rest  sailors  who  had  volunteered 
for  the  duty.  These  were  divided  into  gangs  of  forty, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       175 

that  relieved  each  other,  by  which  the  work  went  on 
day  and  night.  In  this  way  they  coiled  about  thirty 
miles  in  the  twenty-four  hours.  Owing  to  the  in- 
creased length  of  cable,  and  the  greater  care  in  coiling, 
it  took  a  longer  time  than  the  year  before.  The  whole 
was  completed  about  the  middle  of  May.  There  was 
then  in  all,  on  board  the  two  ships,  a  little  over  three 
thousand  miles.  This  included,  besides  seven  hun- 
dred miles  of  new  cable,  thirty-nine  miles  of  that  lost 
the  year  before,  which  had  been  recovered  by  the 
company,  and  a  few  miles  of  condemned  cable  from 
Greenwich,  which  was  put  on  board  for  experiments. 
The  shipment  being  thus  complete,  and  the  paying-out 
machines  in  position,  the  ships  were  ready  to  make  a 
trial  trip,  preparatory  to  their  final  departure. 

For  this  purpose  the  telegraphic  squadron  sailed 
from  Plymouth  on  Saturday,  the  twenty-ninth  of  May, 
and  bore  southward  two  or  three  hundred  miles,  till 
the  green  color  of  the  sea  changing  to  a  deep  blue, 
showed  that  they  had  reached  the  great  depths  of  the 
ocean.  They  were  now  in  the  waters  of  the  Bay  of 
Biscay,  where  the  soundings  were  over  twenty-five  hun- 
dred fathoms.  Here  the  Niagara  and  the  Agamemnon 
were  hung  together  by  a  hawser,  being  about  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  apart.  Then  the  cable  was  passed  from 
one  to  the  other,  and  a  series  of  experiments  began, 
designed  to  test  both  the  strength  of  the  cable  and  the 


176       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

working  of  the  machinery.  Two  miles  of  the  cable 
were  paid  out,  when  it  parted.  This  would  have 
seemed  a  bad  sign,  had  it  been  any  other  part  of  the 
cable  than  that  which  was  known  to  be  imperfect  and 
had  long  since  been  condemned.  The  next  day  three 
miles  were  paid  out.  This,  too,  was  broken,  but  only 
when  they  tried  to  haul  it  in,  and  under  a  pressure  of 
several  tons. 

Other  experiments  were  tried,  such  as  splicing  the 
cable,  and  lowering  it  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea — an 
operation  which  it  was  thought  might  be  critical  in 
mid-ocean,  but  which  was  performed  without  difficulty 
— and  running  out  the  cable  at  a  rapid  rate,  when  the 
speed  of  the  ship  was  increased  to  seven  knots,  without 
causing  the  cable  to  break,  or  even  to  kink.  On  the 
whole,  the  result  of  the  trip  was  regarded  as  satisfac- 
tory. The  paying-out  machine  of  Mr.  Everett  worked 
well,  and  the  electric  continuity  through  the  whole 
cable  was  perfect.  After  these  experiments  the  squad- 
ron returned  to  Plymouth. 

Two  days  after,  Saturday,  the  fifth  of  June,  it  was 
the  fortune  of  the  writer  to  arrive  in  Plymouth,  and  to 
witness  the  final  preparations  for  the  departure  of  the 
expedition.  It  was  his  privilege  to  attend  divine  ser- 
vice on  board  the  Niagara  the  last  Sabbath  before  she 
sailed.  Never  can  he  forget  that  day, 

So  pure,  so  calm,  so  bright, 
The  bridal  of  the  earth  and  sky. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        177 

The  squadron  lay  all  together  in  Plymouth  Sound. 
Looking  at  those  great  ships,  turned  from  their  office 
of  war  to  be  messengers  of  peace  and  good-will,  they 
seemed  truly  "beautiful  upon  the  waters  as  are  the 
feet  upon  the  mountains  of  those  who  publish  the  gospel 
of  peace."* 

Among  the  matters  of  personal  solicitude  and  anx- 
iety at  this  time — next  to  the  success  of  the  expedi- 
tion— was  Mr.  Field  himself.  He  was  working  with 
an  activity  which  was  unnatural — which  could  only 
be  kept  up  by  great  excitement,  and  which  involved 
the  most  serious  danger.  The  strain  on  the  man  was 
more  than  the  strain  on  the  cable,  and  we  were  in  fear 
that  both  would  break  together.  Often  he  had  no 
sleep,  except  such  as  he  caught  flying  on  the  railway. 
Indeed,  when  we  remonstrated,  he  said  he  could  rest 
better  there  than  anywhere  else,  for  then  he  was  not 
tormented  with  the  thought  of  any  thing  undone. 
For  the  time  being  he  could  do  no  more ;  and  then 
putting  his  head  in  the  cushioned  corner  of  the  car- 
riage, he  got  an  hour  or  two  of  broken  sleep. 

Of  this  activity  we  had  an  instance  while  in  Ply- 
mouth. The  ships  were  then  lying  in  the  Sound,  only 
waiting  orders  from  the  Admiralty  to  go  to  sea ;  but 
some  business  required  one  of  the  Directors  to  go  to 
Paris,  and  as  usual,  it  fell  upon  him.  He  left  on  Sun- 

*  Speech  of  the  Earl  of  Carlisle  at  Valentia  the  year  before. 

8* 


178       HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

day  night  and  went  to  Bristol,  and  thence,  by  the  first 
morning  train,  to  London.  Monday  he  was  busy  all 
day,  and  that  night  went  to  Paris.  Tuesday,  another 
busy  day,  and  that  night  back  to  London.  Wednes- 
day, occupied  every  minute  till  the  departure  of  the 
Great  Western  train.  That  night  back  to  Plymouth. 
Thursday  morning  on  board  the  Niagara,  and  imme- 
diately the  squadron  sailed. 

It  was  the  tenth  day  of  June  that  the  expedition  left 
England,  with  fair  skies  and  bright  prospects.  In 
truth,  it  was  a  gallant  sight,  as  these  four  ships  stood 
out  to  sea  together — those  old  companions,  the  Ni- 
agara and  the  Agamemnon,  leading  the  way,  followed 
by  their  new  attendants,  the  Valorous  and  the  Gor- 
gon. Never  did  a  voyage  begin  with  better  omens. 
The  day  was  one  of  the  mildest  of  June,  and  the  sea 
so  still,  that  one  could  scarcely  perceive,  by  the  mo- 
tion of  the  ship,  when  they  passed  beyond  the  break- 
water off  Plymouth  harbor  into  the  channel,  or  into 
the  open  sea.  At  night,  it  was  almost  a  dead  calm. 
The  second  day  was  like  the  first.  There  was  scarce- 
ly wind  enough  to  swell  the  sails.  The  ships  were 
all  in  sight,  and  as  they  kept  under  easy  steam,  they 
seemed  bound  on  a  voyage  of  pleasure,  gliding  over  a 
summer  sea  to  certain  success. 

It  had  been  supposed  that  the  expedition  of  this 
year  would  have  a  great  advantage  over  the  last,  from 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       179 

sailing  two  months  earlier,  at  what  was  considered  a 
more  favorable  season.  So  said  all  the  wise  men  of 
the  sea.  They  had  given  their  opinion  that  June 
was  the  best  month  for  crossing  the  Atlantic.  Then 
they  were  almost  sure  of  fair  weather.  The  first  three 
days  of  the  voyage  confirmed  these  predictions,  and 
they  who  had  made  them,  being  found  true  prophets, 
shook  their  heads  with  great  satisfaction. 

But  alas  I  for  the  vanity  of  human  expectations,  or 
for  those  who  put  trust  in  the  "treacherous  sea."  On 
Sunday  it  began  to  blow.  The  barometer  fell,  and  all 
signs  indicated  to  the  eye  of  a  seaman  rough  weather. 
From  this  time  they  had  a  succession  of  gales  for  more 
than  a  week.  From  day  to  clay  it  blew  fiercer  than 
before,  till  Sunday,  the  twentieth,  when  the  gale  was 
at  its  height,  and  the  spirit  of  the  storm  was  out  on  the 
Atlantic.  Up  to  this  time  the  Niagara  and  the  Aga- 
memnon (though  they  had  long  since  parted  from  the 
Valorous  and  the  Gorgon)  had  managed  to  keep  in 
sight  of  each  other;  and  now  from  the  deck  of  the 
former  the  latter  was  seen  a  mile  and  a  half  distant, 
rolling  heavily  in  the  sea.  The  signals  which  she 
made  showed  that  she  was  struggling  with  the  fury  of 
the  gale.  She  was  really  in  great  danger  of  founder- 
ing. But  this  was  owing,  not  merely  to  the  severity 
of  the  gale,  but  to  the  enormous  weight  she  carried, 
and  to  the  way  this  huge  bulk  was  stowed  in  the  ship. 


180       HISTOKY  OP   THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

Only  a  few  days  before  this  we  had  been  on  board  of 
her,  and  Captain  Preedy  showed  us,  in  one  coil,  thir- 
teen hundred  miles  of  cable  1  This  made  a  dead 
weight  of  as  many  hundred  tons,  which  rendered  her 
in  rough  weather  almost  unmanageable.  To  make  the 
matter  worse,  she  had  another  coil  of  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  tons  on  the  forward  deck,  where  it 
made  the  head  of  the  ship  heavy.  In  her  tremendous 
rolls,  this  coil  broke  loose,  and  threatened  at  a  time  to 
dash  like  an  avalanche  through  the  side  of  the  ship. 
But  at  the  most  fearful  moments  the  gallant  seaman  in 
command  never  lost  his  presence  of  mind.  He  was 
always  on  deck,  watching  with  a  vigilant  eye  the 
raging  of  the  tempest,  and  issuing  his  orders  with 
coolness  and  prompt  decision.  To  this  admirable 
skill  was  due  the  safety  of  the  ship,  and  of  all  on 
board/* 

But  all  things  have  an  end  ;  and  this  long  gale  at 
last  blew  itself  out,  and  the  weary  ocean  rocked  itself 
to  rest.  Toward  the  last  of  the  week  the  squadron 

*  As  there  is  no  trouble  without  a  compensation,  it  is  something  that 
this  voyage,  fearful  as  it  was,  furnished  a  subject  for  a  description  of 
marvellous  power.  The  letter  to  the  London  Times,  written  by  Mr. 
Woods,  its  correspondent  on  board  the  Agamemnon,  is  one  of  the 
finest  descriptions  of  a  storm  at  sea  we  know  of  in  the  language.  It  is 
a  wonderful  specimen  of  "  word-painting,"  and  in  the  vividness  with 
which  it  brings  the  scene  before  us,  may  be  compared  with  the  marine 
paintings  of  Stanfield  or  Turner. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       181 

got  together  at  the  appointed  rendezvous  in  mid-ocean. 
As  the  ships  came  in  sight,  the  angry  sea  went  down ; 
and  on  Friday,  June  twenty-fifth,  just  fifteen  days 
from  Plymouth,  they  were  all  together,  as  tranquil  in 
the  middle  of  the  Atlantic  as  if  in  Plymouth  Sound. 
"  This  evening  the  four  vessels  lay  together  side  by 
side,  and  there  was  such  a  stillness  in  the  sea  and  air, 
as  would  have  seemed  remarkable  in  an  inland  lake  ; 
on  the  Atlantic,  and  after  what  we  had  all  so  lately 
witnessed,  it  seemed  almost  unnatural."  The  boats 
were  out,  and  the  officers  were  visiting  from  ship 
to  ship,  telling  their  experiences  of  the  voyage,  and 
forming  their  plans  for  the  morrow.  Captains  Aldham 
and  Dayman  said  it  was  the  worst  weather  they  had 
ever  experienced  in  the  North -Atlantic.  But  it  was 
the  Agamemnon  that  suffered  most.  The  rough 
sea  had  shaken  not  only  the  ship,  but  the  cable  in 
her.  The  upper  part  of  the  main  coil  had  shifted,  and 
become  so  twisted  and  tangled,  that  a  hundred  miles 
had  to  be  got  out  and  coiled  in  another  part  of  the 
ship,  so  that  it  was  not  till  the  afternoon  of  Saturday, 
the  twenty-sixth,  that  the  splice  was  finally  made,  and 
the  cable  lowered  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  The  ships 
were  then  got  under  weigh,  but  had  not  gone  three 
miles,  before  the  cable  broke,  being  caught  in  the  ma- 
chinery on  board  the  Niagara.  It  was  fortunate  they 
had  gone  no  further.  Both  ships  at  once  turned  about 


182       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

and  spliced  again  the  same  afternoon,  and  made  a  fresh 
start.  Now  all  went  well.  The  paying-out  machines 
worked  smoothly,  and  the  cable  ran  off  easily  into  the 
sea.  Thus  each  ship  had  paid  out  about  forty  miles 
when  suddenly  the  current  ceased ! 

Says  the  writer  on  the  Agamemnon :  "  At  half-past 
three  o'clock  [Sunday  morning]  forty  miles  had  gone, 
and  nothing  could  be  more  perfect  and  regular  than 
the  working  of  every  thing,  when  suddenly  Professor 
Thompson  came  on  deck,  and  reported  a  total  break 
of  continuity ;  that  the  cable  in  fact  had  parted,  and, 
as  was  believed  at  the  time,  from  the  Niagara.  In 
another  instant  a  gun  and  a  blue-light  warned  the 
Valorous  of  what  had  happened,  and  roused  all  on 
board  the  Agamemnon  to  a  knowledge  that  the  .ma- 
chinery was  silent,  and  that  the  first  part  of  the  At- 
lantic Cable  had  been  laid  and  lost  effectually." 

This  was  disheartening,  but  not  so  much  from  the 
fact  of  a  fresh  breaking  of  the  cable,  as  from  the  mys- 
tery as  to  its  cause.  The  fact,  of  course,  was  known 
instantly  on  both  ships,  but  the  cause  was  unknown. 
Those  on  each  ship  supposed  it  had  occurred  on  the 
other.  With  this  impression,  they  turned  about  to 
beat  up  again  toward  the  rendezvous.  It  was  noon  of 
Monday,  the  twenty- eighth,  before  the  Agamemnon 
rejoined  the  Niagara ;  and  then,  says  the  writer  already 
quoted :  "  While  all  were  waiting  with  impatience  for 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        183 

her  explanation  of  how  they  broke  the  cable,  she 
electrified  every  one  by  running  up  the  interrogatory : 
'  How  did  the  cable  part  ?  '  This  was  astounding.  As 
soon  as  the  boats  could  be  lowered,  Mr.  Cyrus  Field, 
with  the  electricians  from  the  Niagara,  came  on  board, 
and  a  comparison  of  logs  showed  the  painful  and 
mysterious  fact  that,  at  the  same  second  of  time,  each 
vessel  discovered  that  a  total  fracture  had  taken  place 
at  a  distance  of  certainly  not  less  than  ten  miles  from 
each  ship ;  in  fact,  as  well  as  can  be  judged,  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean.  That  of  all  the  many  mishaps 
connected  with  the  Atlantic  Telegraph,  this  is  the 
worst  and  most  disheartening  is  certain,  since  it  proves 
that,  after  all  that  human  skill  and  science  can  effect 
to  lay  the  wire  down  with  safety  has  been  accomplish- 
ed, there  may  be  some  fatal  obstacles  to  success  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean,  which  can  never  be  guarded 
against ;  for  even  the  nature  of  the  peril  must  always 
remain  as  secret  and  unknown  as  the  depths  in  which 
it  is  to  be  encountered." 

But  it  was  no  time  for  useless  regrets.  Once  more 
the  cable  was  joined  in  mid-ocean,  and  dropped  to  its 
silent  bed,  and  the  Niagara  and  the  Agamemnon  be- 
gan to  steam  away  toward  opposite  shores  of  the  At- 
lantic. This  time  the  experiment  succeeded  better 
than  before.  The  progress  of  the  English  ship  is  thus 
reported : 


184       HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

"At  first,  the  ship's  speed  was  only  two  knots,  the 
cable  going  three  and  three  and  a  half,  with  a  strain 
of  fifteen  hundred  pounds.  By  and  by,  however,  the 
speed  was  increased  to  four  knots,  the  cable  going  five, 
at  a  strain  of  two  thousand  pounds.  At  this  rate  it 
was  kept,  with  trifling  variations,  throughout  almost 
the  whole  of  Monday  night,  and  neither  Mr.  Bright, 
Mr.  Canning,  nor  Mr.  Clifford  ever  quitted  the  ma- 
chines for  an  instant.  Toward  the  middle  of  the  night, 
while  the  rate  of  the  ship  continued  the  same,  the 
speed  at  which  the  cable  paid  out  slackened  nearly 
a  knot  an  hour,  while  the  dynamometer  indicated  as 
low  as  thirteen  hundred  pounds.  This  change  could 
only  be  accounted  for  on  the  supposition  that  the  water 
had  shallowed  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  that  the 
vessel  was,  in  fact,  passing  over  some  submarine  Ben 
Nevis  or  Skidd  aw.  After  an  interval  of  about  an 
hour,  the  strain  and  rate  of  progress  of  the  cable  again 
increased,  while  the  increase  of  the  vertical  angle 
seemed  to  indicate  that  the  wire  was  sinking  down  the 
side  of  a  declivity.  Beyond  this,  there  was  no  varia- 
tion throughout  Monday  night,  or,  indeed,  through 
Tuesday." 

On  board  the  Niagara  was  the  same  scene  of  anx- 
ious watching  every  hour  of  the  day  and  night.  En- 
gineers and  electricians  were  constantly  on  duty.  "  The 
scene  at  night  was  beautiful.  Scarcely  a  word  was 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        185 

spoken ;  silence  was  commanded,  and  no  conversation 
allowed.  Nothing  was  heard  but  the  strange  rattling 
of  the  machine  as  the  cable  was  running  out.  The 
lights  about  deck  and  in  the  quarter-deck  circle  added 
to  the  singularity  of  the  spectacle ;  and  those  who 
were  on  board  the  ship  describe  the  state  of  anxious 
suspense  in  which  all  were  held  as  exceedingly  im- 
pressive." 

Warned  by  repeated  failures,  they  hardly  dared  to 
hope  for  success  in  this  last  experiment.  And  yet  the 
spirits  of  all  rose,  as  the  distance  widened  between  the 
ships.  A  hundred  miles  were  laid  safely — a  hundred 
and  fifty — two  hundred.  Why  might  they  not  lay 
two  thousand  ?  So  reasoned  the  sanguine  and  hopeful 
when,  Tuesday  night,  came  the  fatal  announcement 
that  the  electric  current  had  ceased  to  flow.  It  after- 
ward appeared  that  the  cable  had  broken  about  twenty 
feet  from  the  stern  of  the  Agamemnon. 

As  the  cable  was  now  useless,  it  only  remained  to 
cut  it  from  the  stern  of  the  Niagara.  Before  doing 
this,  Mr.  Field  thought  it  a  good  opportunity  to  test 
its  strength.  For  this  purpose  the  brakes  were  shut 
down,  so  that  the  paying-out  machine  could  not  move. 
But  still  the  cable  did  not  break,  although  the  whole 
weight  of  the  Niagara  hung  upon  that  slender  cord, 
and  though  several  men  got  upon  the  brakes.  Says 
Captain  Hudson :  "Although  the  wind  was  quite  fresh. 


186       HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

the  cable  held  the  ship  for  one  hour  and  forty  minutes  be* 
fore  breaking,  and  notwithstanding  a  strain  of  four  tons." 

Though  not  unexpected,  this  last  breaking  of  the 
cable  was  a  sad  blow  to  all  on  board.  It  was  the  end 
of  their  hopes,  at  least  for  the  present  expedition. 
Before  separating,  it  had  been  agreed,  that  if  the  cable 
should  part  again  before  either  ship  had  run  a  hun- 
dred miles,  they  should  return  and  renew  the  attempt. 
If  they  had  passed  that  limit,  they  were  all  to  sail  for 
Ireland.  But  the  Niagara  had  run  out  a  hundred  and 
eleven  miles,  and  knowing  that  the  Agamemnon  had 
done  about  the  same,  she  expected  the  latter  would 
keep  on  her  course  eastward,  not  stopping  till  she 
reached  Queenstown.  The  Niagara,  therefore,  reluct- 
antly bore  away  for  the  same  port. 

Of  course,  the  return  voyage  was  "  any  thing  but 
gay."  When  soldiers  come  home  from  the  war,  they 
march  with  a  proud  step,  if  they  have  had  a  victorious 
campaign.  But  it  is  otherwise  when  they  corne  with 
a  sad  tale  of  disaster  and  defeat.  Seldom  had  an  ex- 
pedition begun  with  higher  hopes,  or  ended  in  more 
complete  failure.  Who  could  help  feeling  keenly  this 
fresh  disappointment?  Even  with  all  the  courage 
"  that  may  become  a  man,"  heightened  by  a  natural 
buoyancy  of  spirits,  how  was  it  possible  to  resist  the 
impression  of  the  facts  they  had  just  witnessed  ?  If—- 
as Lord  Carlisle  had  told  them  the  year  before — "  there 


HISTORY  01'  TIJE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        187 

was  almost  enough  of  glory  in  the  very  design  of  an 
Atlantic  telegraph,"  that  glory  might  still  be  theirs. 
But  apparently  they  could  hope  for  nothing  more. 
They  had  done  all  that  men  could  do.  But  Fate  seem- 
ed against  them;  and  who  can  fight  against  destiny? 
No  one  can  blame  them  if  they  sometimes  bad  sore 
misgivings,  and  looked  out  sadly  upon  the  sea  that 
had  baffled  their  utmost  skill,  and  now  laughed  their 
efforts  to  scorn. 

In  this  mood  they  entered  once  more  the  harbor  of 
Queenstown.  The  Niagara  was  the  first  to  arrive  and 
to  bring  tidings  of  the  great  disaster.  The  Agamem- 
non came  in  a  few  days  after.  Knowing  the  fatal  im- 
pression their  report  was  likely  to  produce,  Mr.  Field 
hastened  to  London  to  meet  the  Directors.  It  was 
high  time.  The  news  had  reached  there  before  him,  and 
had  already  produced  its  effect.  Under  its  impression 
the  Board  was  called  together.  It  met  in  the  same  room 
where,  six  weeks  before,  it  had  discussed  the  prospects 
of  the  expedition  with  full  confidence  of  success.  Now 
it  met,  as  a  council  of  war  is  summoned  after  a  terrible 
defeat,  to  decide  whether  to  surrender  or  to  try  once 
more  the  chances  of  battle.  When  the  Directors  came 
together,  the  feeling — to  call  it  by  the  mildest  name — 
was  one  of  extreme  discouragement.  They  looked 
blankly  in  each  other's  faces.  With  some,  the  feeling 
was  one  almost  of  despair.  Sir  William  Brown,  of 


188       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGKAPH. 

Liverpool,  the  first  Chairman,  wrote,  advising  them  to 
sell  the  cable.  Mr.  Brooking,  the  Vice-Chairman,  who 
had  given  more  time  to  it  than  any  other  Director, 
when  he  saw  that  his  colleagues  were  disposed  to  make 
still  another  trial,  left  the  room,  and  the  next  day  sent 
in  his  resignation,  determined  to  take  no  further  part 
in  an  undertaking  which  had  been  proved  hopeless, 
and  to  persist  in  which  seemed  mere  rashness  and  folly. 
But  others  thought  there  was  still  a  chance.  Like 
Robert  Bruce,  who,  after  twelve  battles  and  twelve 
defeats,  yet  believed  that  a  thirteenth  might  bring  vic- 
tory, they  clung  to  this  bare  possibility.  Mr.  Field 
and  Professor  Thomson  gave  the  results  of  their  ex- 
perience, from  which  it  appeared  that  there  was  no 
obstacle  in  the  nature  of  the  case  which  might  not  be 
overcome.  To  be  sure,  it  was  a  forlorn  hope.  But 
the  ships  were  there.  Though  they  had  lost  three 
hundred  miles  of  cable,  they  had  still  enough  on 
board  to  cross  the  sea.  These  arguments  prevailed, 
and  it  was  voted  to  make  one  more  trial  before  the 
project  was  finally  abandoned.  Even  though  the 
chances  were  a  hundred  to  one  against  them,  that  one 
might  secure  them  final  success.  And  so  it  proved. 
But  was  it  their  own  wisdom  or  courage  that  got  them 
the  victory,  or  were  they  led  by  that  Being  whose 
way  is  in  the  sea,  and  whose  path  is  in  the  great  waters  ? 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE  SHIPS  SAIL  ON  A  SECOND  EXPEDITION.  THEY  MEET  IN  MID- OCEAN 
SUCCESSFUL  VOYAGE  OP  THE  NIAGARA,  AND  OP  THE  AGAMEMNO>, 
CABLE  LANDED  IN  IRELAND  AND  IN  NEWFOUNDLAND 

A  BOLD  decision  needs  to  be  followed  by  prompt 
action,  lest  the  spirit  that  inspires  the  daring  attempt 
be  weakened  by  delay.  When  once  it  had  been  fixed 
that  there  was  to  be  another  attempt  to  lay  the  Atlan- 
tic cable,  no  time  was  lost  in  carrying  the  resolve  into 
execution.  The  telegraphic  fleet  was  lying  at  Queens- 
town.  The  Niagara  had  arrived  on  the  fifth  of  July, 
but  the  Agamemnon,  which,  through  some  misunder- 
standing, had  returned  to  the  rendezvous  in  mid- ocean, 
thus  crossing  the  Niagara  on  her  track,  did  not  get  in 
till  a  week  later.  However,  all  were  now  there,  safe 
and  sound,  when  the  order  came  down  from  London 
to  get  ready  immediately  to  go  to  sea.  Not  an  hour 
was  lost.  The  ships  had  barely  time  to  take  in  coal 
and  other  supplies  for  the  voyage.  Mr.  Field  hastened 
from  England,  and  Prof.  Thomson  from  his  home  ID 
Scotland,  and  in  five  days  the  squadron  was  under 


190       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH. 

weigh,  bound  once  more  for  the  middle  of  the  At- 
lantic. 

It  was  Saturday,  the  seventeenth  of  July,  that  the 
ships  left  on  their  second  expedition.  As  they  sailed 
out  of  the  Cove  of  Cork,  it  was  with  none  of  the  en- 
thusiasm which  attended  their  departure  from  Valen- 
tia  the  year  before,  or  even  from  Plymouth  on  the 
tenth  of  June.  Nobody  cheered  ;  nobody  bade  them 
G-od-speea.  u  As  the  ships  left  the  harbor,  there  was 
apparently  no  notice  taken  of  their  departure  by  those 
on  shore,  or  in  the  vessels  anchored  around  them  ; 
every  one  seemed  impressed  with  the  conviction  that 
we  were  engaged  in  a  hopeless  enterprise,  and  the 
squadron  seemed  rather  to  have  slunk  away  on  some 
discreditable  mission,  than  to  have  sailed  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  a  grand  national  scheme."  Many 
even  of  those  on  board  felt  that  they  were  going  on  a 
fool's  errand ;  that  the  Company  was  possessed  by  a 
kind  of  insanity,  of  which,  however,  they  would  soon 
be  cured  by  another  bitter  experience. 

On  leaving  this  second  time,  it  was  agreed  that  the 
squadron  should  not  try  to  keep  together,  but  each 
ship  make  its  way  to  the  given  latitude  and  longitude 
which  was  the  appointed  rendezvous  in  mid-ocean. 
The  Niagara,  being  the  largest,  and  able  to  carry  the 
most  coal,  kept  under  steam  the  whole  way,  and  ar- 
rived first,  and  waited  several  days  for  the  other  ships 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        191 

to  appear.  The  Yalorous  came  next,  and  then  the 
Gorgon,  and,  last  of  all,  the  Agamemnon,  which  had 
been  saving  her  coal  for  the  return  voyage,  and  had 
been  delayed  for  want  of  a  little  of  that  wind  which, 
in  the  former  expedition,  she  had  in  too  great  abund- 
ance. Says  the  English  correspondent  on  board : 

"  For  several  days  in  succession  there  was  an  unin- 
terrupted calm.  The  moon  was  just  at  the  full,  and 
for  several  nights  it  shone  with  a  brilliancy  which 
turned  the  sea  into  one  silvery  sheet,  which  brought 
out  the  dark  hull  and  white  sails  of  the  ship  in  strong 
contrast  to  the  sea  and  sky,  as  the  vessel  lay  all  but 
motionless  on  the  water,  the  very  impersonation  of 
solitude  and  repose.  Indeed,  until  the  rendezvous 
was  gained,  we  had  such  a  succession  of  beautiful  sun- 
rises, gorgeous  sunsets,  and  tranquil  moonlight  nights, 
as  would  have  excited  the  most  enthusiastic  admiration 
of  any  one  but  persons  situated  as  we  were.  But  by 
us  such  scenes  were  regarded  only  as  the  annoying  in- 
dications of  the  calm,  which  delayed  our  progress  and 
wasted  our  coal.  By  dint,  however,  of  a  judicious 
expenditure  of  fuel,  and  a  liberal  use  of  the  cheaper 
motive  power  of  sail,  the  rendezvous  was  reached  on 
Wednesday,  the  twenty-eighth  of  July,  just  eleven 
days  after  our  departure  from  Queenstown.  The  rest 
of  the  squadron  came  in  sight  at  nightfall,  but  at  such 
a  distance  that  it  was  past  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning 


192       HISTORY  OF  THE,  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

of  Thursday,  the  twenty-ninth,  before  the  Agamem- 
non joined  them." 

"  The  day  was  beautifully  cairn,  so  no  time  was  to 
be  lost  before  making  the  splice ;  boats  were  soon  low- 
ered from  the  attendant  ships,  the  two  vessels  made 
fast  by  a  hawser,  and  the  Niagara's  end  of  the  cable 
conveyed  on  board  the  Agamemnon.  About  half-past 
twelve  o'clock  the  splice  was  effectually  made.  In 
hoisting  it  out  from  the  side  of  the  ship  the  leaden 
sinker  broke  short  off  and  fell  overboard ;  and  there 
being  no  more  convenient  weight  at  hand,  a  thirty- 
two  pound  shot  was  fastened  to  the  splice  instead,  and 
the  whole  apparatus  was  quickly  dropped  into  the  sea 
without  any  formality,  and  indeed  almost  without  a 
spectator,  for  those  on  board  the  ship  had  witnessed 
so. many  beginnings  to  the  telegraphic  line,  that  it  was 
evident  they  despaired  of  there  ever  being  an  end  to 
it.  The  stipulated  two  hundred  and  ten  fathoms  hav- 
ing been  paid  out,  the  signal  to  start  was  hoisted,  the 
hawser  cast  loose,  and  the  Niagara  and  Agamemnon 
started  for  the  last  time  for  their  opposite  destina- 
tions." 

At  this  moment  the  ships  were  nearly  in  mid-ocean, 
but  not  exactly.  Mr.  Field,  who  never  indulges  in 
poetical  descriptions,  but  always  gives  the  figures, 
stating  the  precise  latitude  and  longitude,  and  from 
what  quarter  the  wind  blows,  and  how  many  fath- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        193 

oms  deep  the  ocean  is,  and  how  many  miles  of  cable 
are  on  board,  makes  the  following  entry  in  his  jour- 
nal: 

"  Thursday,  July  twenty-ninth,  latitude  fifty-two 
degrees  nine  minutes  north,  longitude  thirty-two  de- 
grees twenty-seven  minutes  west.  Telegraph  Fleet  all 
in  sight ;  sea  smooth  ;  light  wind  from  S.E.  to  S.S.E., 
cloudy.  Splice  made  at  one  P.M.  Signals  through 
the  whole  length  of  the  cable  on  board  both  ships  per- 
fect. Depth  of  water  fifteen  hundred  fathoms ;  dis- 
tance to  the  entrance  of  Yalentia  harbor  eight  hun- 
dred and  thirteen  nautical  miles,  and  from  there  to 
the  telegraph-house  the  shore  end  of  the  cable  is  laid. 
Distance  to  the  entrance  of  Trinity  Bay,  Newfound- 
land, eight  hundred  and  twenty-two  nautical  miles, 
and  from  there  to  the  telegraph-house  at  the  head  of 
the  bay  of  Bull's  Arm,  sixty  miles,  making  in  all 
eight  hundred  and  eighty-two  nautical  miles.  The 
Niagara  has  sixty-nine  miles  further  to  run  than  the 
Agamemnon.  The  Niagara  and  Agamemnon  have 
each  eleven  hundred  nautical  miles  of  cable  on  board, 
about  the  same  quantity  as  last  year." 

And  now,  as  the  ships  are  fairly  apart,  and  will 
soon  lose  sight  of  each  other,  we  will  leave  the  Aga- 
memnon for  the  present  to  pursue  her  course  toward 
Ireland,  while  we  follow  our  own  Niagara  to  the 
shores  of  the  New  World.  At  first  of  course,  while 
9 


194       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

all  hoped  for  success,  no  one  dared  to  expect  it.  At 
least  they  said  afterwards  that  "Mr.  Field  was  the 
only  man  on  board  who  kept  up  his  courage  through 
it  all."  But  the  chances  seemed  many  to  one  against 
them ;  and  the  warnings  were  frequent  to  excite  their 
fears.  That  very  evening,  about  sunset,  all  again  seem- 
ed lost.  "We  quote  from  Mr.  Field's  journal  :  "At 
forty-five  minutes  past  seven  P.M.,  ship's  time,  signals 
from  the  Agamemnon  ceased,  and  the  tests  applied  by 
the  electricians  showed  that  there  was  a  want  of  con 
tinuity  in  the  cable,  but  the  insulation  was  perfect. 
Kept  on  paying  out  from  the  Niagara  very  slowly, 
and  constantly  applying  all  kinds  of  electrical  tests 
until  ten  minutes  past  nine,  ship's  time,  when  again 
commenced  receiving  -perfect  signals  from  the  Aga- 
memnon." At  the  same  moment  the  same  experience 
was  going  on  on  the  English  ship. 

The  next  day  there  was  a  fresh  cause  of  alarm.  It 
was  found  that  the  Niagara  had  run  some  miles  oufc  of 
her  course.  Comparing  the  distance  run  by  observa- 
tion and  by  patent  log,  there  was  a  difference  of  sixteen 
miles  and  a  third.  With  such  a  percentage  of  loss, 
the  cable  would  not  hold  out  to  reach  Newfoundland. 
This  was  alarming,  but  the  explanation  was  obvious. 
The  mass  of  iron  in  the  ship  had  affected  the  compass, 
so  that  it  no  longer  pointed  to  the  right  quarter  of  th 
heavens.  Had  the  Niagara  been  alone  on  the  ocean, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        195 

this  might  have  caused  serious  trouble.  But  now  ap- 
peared the  great  advantage  of  an  attendant  ship.  It 
was  at  once  arranged  that  the  Gorgon  should  go  ahead 
and  lead  the  way..  As  she  had  no  cable  on  board,  her 
compasses  were  subject  to  no  deviation.  Accordingly 
she  took  her  position  in  the  advance,  keeping  the  line 
along  the  great  circle  arc,  which  was  the  prescribed 
route.  From,  that  moment  there  was  no  variation,  or 
but  a  very  slight  one.  The  two  methods  of  comput- 
ing the  distance — by  log  and  by  observation — nearly 
coincided,  and  the  ship  varied  scarcely  a  mile  from 
her  course  till  she  entered  Trinity  Bay. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  the  whole  voyage,  for 
the  record  is  the  same  from  day  to  day.  It  is  the 
same  sleepless  watching  of  the  cable  as  it  runs  out  day 
and  night,  and  the  same  anxious  estimate  of  the  dis- 
tance that  still  separates  them  from  land.  Communi- 
cation is  kept  up  constantly  between  the  ships.  Mr. 
Field's  journal  contains  entries  like  these  : 

"  Saturday,  July  thirty-first.  By  eleven  o'clock  had 
paid  out  from  the  Niagara  three  hundred  miles  of  ca- 
ble ;  at  forty-five  minutes  past  two  received  signals 
from  the  Agamemnon  that  they  had  paid  out  from 
her  three  hundred  miles  of  cable  ;  at  thirty-seven  min- 
utes past  five  finished  coil  on  the  berth-deck,  and  com- 
menced paying  out  from  the  lower  deck." 

"  Monday,   August  second.   The  Niagara   getting 


196       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

light,  and  rolling  very  much  ;  it  was  not  consider- 
ed safe  to  carry  sail  to  steady  ship,  for  in  case  of 
accident  it  might  be  necessary  to  stop  the  vessel  as 
soon  as  possible.  Passed  and  signalled  the  Cunard 
steamer  from  Boston  to  Liverpool."  Same  day  abou 
noon,  "  imperfect  insulation  of  cable  detected  in  send 
ing  and  receiving  signals  from  the  Agamemnon,  which 
continued  until  forty  minutes  past  five,  when  all  was 
right  again.  The  fault  was  found  to  be  in  the  ward- 
room, about  sixty  miles  from  the  lower  end,  which 
was  immediately  cut  out,  and  taken  out  of  the  circuit." 

"  Tuesday,  August  third.  At  a  quarter-past  eleven, 
ship's  time,  received  signals  from  on  board  the  Aga- 
memnon, that  they  had  paid  out  from  her  seven  hun- 
dred and  eighty  miles  of  cable.  In  the  afternoon  and 
evening  passed  several  icebergs.  At  ten  minutes  past 
nine  P.M.,  ship's  time,  received  signal  from  the  Aga- 
memnon that  she  was  in  water  of  two  hundred  fath- 
oms. At  twenty  minutes  past  ten  P.M.,  ship's  time, 
Niagara  in  water  of  two  hundred  fathoms,  and  inform- 
ed the  Agamemnon  of  the  same. 

"  "Wednesday,  August  fourth.  Depth  of  water  less 
than  two  hundred  fathoms.  "Weather  beautiful,  per- 
fectly calm.  Gorgon  in  sight.  Sixty-four  miles  from 
the  telegraph-house.  Eeceived  signal  from  Agamem- 
non at  noon  that  they  had  paid  out  from  her  nine 
hundred  and  forty  miles  of  cable.  Passed  this  morn- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        197 

ing  several  icebergs.  Made  the  land  off  entrance  to 
Trinity  Bay  at  eight  A.M.  Entered  Trinity  Bay  at 
half-past  twelve.  At  half-past  two,  we  stopped  send- 
ing signals  to  Agamemnon  for  fourteen  minutes, 
for  the  purpose  of  making  splice.  At  five  P.M.  saw 
Her  Majesty's  steamer  Porcupine  [which  had  been 
sent  by  the  British  Government  to  Newfoundland, 
to  watch  for  the  telegraph  ships]  coming  to  us.  At 
half-past  seven,  Captain  Otter,  of  the  Porcupine,  came 
on  board- of  the  Niagara  to  pilot  us  to  the  anchorage, 
near  the  telegraph-house.* 

*  The  spot  chosen  as  the  terminus  of  the  Atlantic  cable,  with  the 
views  around  it — both  on  the  water  and  on  land — is  thus  described  by  a 
correspondent : 

"  All  who  have  visited  Trinity  Bay,  Newfoundland,  with  one  consent 
allow  it  to  be  one  of  the  most  beautiful  sheets  of  water  they  ever  set 
eyes  upon.  Its  color  is  very  peculiar — an  inexpressible  mingling  of 
the  pure  blue  ocean  with  the  deep  evergreen  woodlands  and  the  serene 
blue  sky.  Its  extreme  length  is  about  eighty  miles,  its  breadth  about 
thirty  miles,  opening  boldly  into  the  Atlantic  on  the  northern  side  of 
the  island.  At  its  south-western  shore  it  branches  into  the  Bay  of 
Bull's  Arm,  which  is  a  quiet,  safe,  and  beautiful  harbor,  about  two 
miles  in  breadth,  and  nine  or  ten  in  length,  running  in  a  direction 
north-west. 

"  The  depth  of  water  is  sufficient  for  the  largest  vessels.  The  tide 
rises  seven  or  eight  feet,  and  the  bay  terminates  in  a  beautiful  sand- 
beach.  The  shore  is  clothed  with  dark  green  fir-trees,  which,  mixed 
with  birch  and  mountain-ash,  present  a  pleasing  contrast.  The  land 
rises  gradually  from  the  water  all  around,  so  as  to  afford  one  of  the 
most  agreeable  town  sites  in  the  island.  You  ascend  only  about  a 


198       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

"Thursday,  August  fifth.  At  forty-five  minutes  past 
one  A.M.,  Niagara  anchored.  Total  amount  of  cable 
paid  out  since  splice  was  made,  ten  hundred  and  six- 
teen miles,  six  hundred  fathoms.  Total  amount  of 

quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  water,  and  there  are  no  longer  trees,  but 
wild  grass  like  an  open  prairie.  Here  are  found  at  this  season  myriads 
of  the  upland  cranberries,  upon  which  unnumbered  ptarmigan,  or  the 
northern  partridge,  feed. 

"  The  raspberry,  bake-apple  berry,  and  the  whortleberry  are  also 
common.  Numerous  little  lakes  may  be  seen  in  the  open,  elevated 
ground,  from  which  flow  rivulets,  affording  abundance  of  fine  trout. 
After  ascending  for  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  you  are  then  probably 
three  hundred  or  four  hundred  feet  above  the  tide,  and  nothing  can 
exceed  the  beauty  of  the  scene  when,  at  one  view,  you  behold  the 
placid  waters  of  both  Trinity  and  Placentia  Bays — the  latter  sprinkled 
with  clusters  of  verdant  islands. 

"  You  can  now  descend  westward  as  gradually  as  you  came  up  from 
the  Telegraph  landing,  to  the  shore  of  Placentia  Bay,  where  there  is  an 
excellent  harbor  and  admirable  fisheries,  skirting  the  shore,  and  the 
accompanying  road  of  the  land  Telegraph  line  leading  from  St.  John's 
westward  through  the  island,  to  Cape  Ray.  At  this  season  of  the  year 
game  is  very  abundant.  Reindeer  in  great  numbers,  bears,  wolves — 
others  very  numerous,  the  large  northern  hare,  foxes,  wild  geese, 
ducks,  etc. 

"  About  four  miles  southward  of  the  entrance  of  the  bay  of  Bull's 
Arm,  on  the  shore  of  Placentia  Bay,  is  situated  the  extraordinary  La 
Manche  lead  mine,  the  property  of  the  Telegraph  Company,  already 
yielding  a  rich  supply  of  remarkably  pure  galena.  The  place  where 
the  cable  is  landed  is  memorable  in  the  history  of  the  island  as  the 
naval  battle-ground  between  the  French  and  English  in  their  early 
struggle  for  the  exclusive  occupancy  of  the  valuable  fisheries  along  the 
coast." 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       199 

distance,  eight  hundred  and  eighty-two  miles.  Amount 
of  cable  paid  out  over  distance  run,  one  hundred  and 
thirty-four  miles,  six  hundred  fathoms,  being  a  sur- 
plus of  about  fifteen  per  cent.  At  two  A.M.,  I  went 
ashore  in  a  small  boat,  and  awoke  persons  in  charge 
of  the  telegraph-house,  half  a  mile  from  landing,  and 
informed  them  that  the  Telegraph  Fleet  had  arrived, 
and  were  ready  to  land  the  end  of  the  cable.  At  for- 
ty-five minutes  past  two,  received  signal  from  the  Aga- 
memnon that  she  had  paid  out  ten  hundred  and  ten 
miles  of  cable.  At  four  A.M.,  delivered  telegraphic 
dispatch  for  the  Associated  Press,  to  be  forwarded 
to  New- York  as  early  in  the  morning  as  the  offices  of 
the  line  were  open. 

"  At  a  quarter-past  five  A.M.,  telegraph  cable  land- 
ed. At  six,  end  of  cable  carried  into  telegraph- 
house,  and  received  very  strong  currents  of  electri- 
city through  the  whole  cable  from  the  other  side  of 
the  Atlantic.  Captain  Hudson,  of  the  Niagara,  then 
read  prayers,  and  made  some  remarks. 

"  At  one  P.M.,  Her  Majesty's  steamer  Gorgon  fired 
a  royal  salute  of  twenty-one  guns." 

Thus  simply  was  the  story  told,  that  in  a  few  hours 
was  to  send  a  thrill  throughout  the  continent. 

To  complete  the  narrative  of  the  expedition,  it  is 
necessary  to  include  an  account  of  the  voyage  of  the 
Agamemnon.  We  make  some  extracts  from  the  let- 


200        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ter  to  the  London  Times,  furnished  by  its  special 
correspondent.  "We  begin  at  the  time  of  junction  in 
mid-ocean,  just  as  the  ships  went  sailing  eastward  and 
westward : 

.  "  For  the  first  three  hours  the  ships  proceeded  very 
slowly,  paying  out  a  great  quantity  of  slack,  but  after 
the  expiration  of  this  time,  the  speed  of  the  Agamem- 
non was  increased  to  about  five  knots  per  hour,  the 
cable  going  at  about  six,  without  indicating  more 
than  a  few  hundred  pounds  of  strain  upon  the  dynam- 
ometer. Shortly  after  six  o'clock  a  very  large  whale 
was  seen  approaching  the  starboard  bow  at  a  great 
speed,  rolling  and  tossing  the  sea  into  foam  all  around, 
and  for  the  first  time  we  felt  the  possibility  of  the  sup- 
position that  our  second  mysterious  breakage  of  the 
cable  might  have  been  caused  after  all  by  one  of  these 
animals  getting  foul  of  it  under  water.  It  appeared 
as  if  it  were  making  direct  for  the  cable,  and  great 
was  the  relief  of  all  when  the  ponderous  living  mass 
was  seen  slowly  to  pass  astern,  just  grazing  the  cable 
where  it  entered  the  water,  but  fortunately  without 
doing  any  mischief. 

"  All  seemed  to  go  well  up  to  about  eight  o'clock  ; 
he  cable  paid  out  from  the  hold  with  an  evenness  and 
regularity  which  showed  how  carefully  and  perfectly 
it  had  been  coiled  away ;  and  to  guard  against  acci- 
dents which  might  arise  in  consequence  of  the  cable 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       201 

having  suffered  injury  during  the  storm,  the  indicated 
strain  upon  the  dynamometer  was  never  allowed  to  go 
beyond  seventeen  hundred  pounds,  or  less  than  one 
quarter  what  the  cable  is  estimated  to  bear,  and  thus 
far  every  thing  looked  promising  of  success.  But,  in 
such  a  hazardous  work,  no  one  knows  what  a  few 
minutes  may  bring  forth,  for  soon  after  eight,  an  in- 
jured portion  of  the  cable  was  discovered  about  a 
mile  or  two  from  the  portion  paying  out.  Not  a  mo- 
ment was  lost  by  Mr.  Canning,  the  engineer  on  duty, 
in  setting  men  to  work  to  cobble  up  the  injury  as  well 
as  time  would  permit,  for  the  cable  was  going  out  at 
such  a  rate  that  the  damaged  portion  would  be  paid 
overboard  in  less  than  twenty  minutes,  and  former  ex- 
perience had  shown  us  that  to  check  either  the  speed 
of  the  ship,  or  the  cable,  would,  in  all  probability,  be 
attended  by  the  most  fatal  results. 

"Just  before  the  lapping  was  finished,  Professor 
Thomson  reported  that  the  electrical  continuity  of  the 
wire  had  ceased,  but  that  the  insulation  was  still  per- 
fect; attention  was  naturally  directed  to  the  injured 
piece  as  the  probable  source  of  the  stoppage,  and  not 
a  moment  was  lost  in  cutting  the  cable  at  that  point, 
with  the  intention  of  making  a  perfect  splice.  To  the 
consternation  of  all,  the  electrical  tests  applied  showed 
the  fault  to  be  overboard,  and  in  all  probability  some 
fifty  miles  from  the  ship.  Not  a  second  was  to  be 
9* 


202       HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

lost,  for  it  was  evident  that  the  cut  portion  must  be 
paid  overboard  in  a  few  minutes,  and  in  the  mean 
time,  the  tedious  and  difficult  operation  of  making  a 
splice  had  to  be  performed.  The  ship  was  immediate- 
ly stopped,  and  no  more  cable  paid  out  than  was  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  prevent  it  breaking. 

"  As  the  stern  of  the  ship  was  lifted  by  the  waves, 
a  scene  of  the  most  intense  excitement  followed.  It 
seemed  impossible,  even  by  using  the  greatest  possible 
speed,  and  paying  out  the  least  possible  amount  of  ca- 
ble, that  the  junction  could  be  finished  before  the  part 
was  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  workmen.  The 
main  hold  presented  an  extraordinary  scene ;  nearly 
all  the  officers  of  the  ship  and  of  those  connected  with 
the  expedition,  stood  in  groups  about  the  coil,  watch- 
ing with  intense  anxiety  the  cable,  as  it  slowly  un- 
wound itself  nearer  and  nearer  the  joint,  while  the 
workmen,  directed  by  Mr.  Canning,  under  whose  su- 
perintendence the  cable  was  originally  manufactured, 
worked  at  the  splice  as  only  men  could  work  who  felt 
that  the  life  and  death  of  the  expedition  depended 
upon  their  rapidity.  But  all  their  speed  was  to  no 
purpose,  as  the  cable  was  unwinding  within  a  hundred 
fathoms,  and,  as  a  last  and  desperate  resource,  the  ca 
He  was  stopped  altogether,  and,  for  a  few  minutes,  the 
ship  hung  on  by  the  end.  Fortunately,  however,  it 
was  only  for  a  few  minutes,  as  the  strain  was  contin- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        203 

uallj  rising  above  two  tons,  and  it  would  not  hold  on 
much  longer ;  when  the  splice  was  finished,  the  sig- 
nal was  made  to  loose  the  stopper,  and  it  passed  over- 
board safely  enough. 

"  When  the  excitement  consequent  upon  having  so 
narrowly  saved  the  cable  had  passed  away,  we  awoke 
to  the  consciousness  that  the  case  was  still  as  hopeless 
as  ever,  for  the  electrical  continuity  was  still  entirely 
wanting.  Preparations  were  consequently  made  to 
pay  out  as  little  rope  as  possible,  and  to  hold  on  for 
six  hours,  in  the  hopes  that  the  fault,  whatever  it 
might  be,  might  mend  itself  before  cutting  the  cable 
and  returning  to  the  rendezvous  to  make  another 
splice.  The  magnetic  needles  on  the  receiving  instru- 
ments were  watched  closely  for  the  returning  signals  ; 
when,  in  a  few  minutes,  the  last  hope  was  extinguish- 
ed by  their  suddenly  indicating  dead  earth,  which 
tended  to  show  that  the  cable  had  broken  from  the 
Niagara,  or  that  the  insulation  had  been  completely 
destroyed. 

"  In  three  minutes,  however,  every  one  was  agree- 
ably surprised  by  the  intelligence  that  the  stoppage 
had  disappeared,  and  that  the  signals  had  again  ap- 
peared at  their  regular  intervals  from  the  Niagara. 
It  is  needless  to  say  what  a  load  of  anxiety  this  news 
removed  from  the  minds  of  every  one ;  but  the  gen- 
eral confidence  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the  opera* 


204       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

tions  was  much  shaken  by  the  occurrence,  for  all  felt 
that  every  minute  a  similar  accident  might  occur. 
For  some  time  the  paying-out  continued  as  usual,  but 
toward  the  morning  another  damaged  place  was  dis- 
'overed  in  the  cable ;  there  was  fortunately,  however, 
time  to  repair  it  in  the  hold  without  in  any  way  inter- 
fering with  the  operations  beyond  for  a  time  slightly 
reducing  the  speed  of  the  ship. 

"  During  the  morning  of  Friday,  the  thirtieth,  every 
thing  went  well ;  the  ship  had  been  kept  at  the  speed 
of  about  five  knots,  the  cable  paid  out  at  about  six, 
the  average  angle  with  the  horizon  at  which  it  left  the 
ship  being  about  fifteen  degrees,  while  the  indicated 
strain  upon  the  dynamometer  seldom  showed  more 
than  sixteen  hundred  pounds  to  seventeen  hundred 
pounds.  Observations  made  at  noon  showed  that  we 
had  made  good  ninety  miles  from  the  starting-point 
since  the  previous  day,  with  an  expenditure,  includ- 
ing the  loss  in  lowering  the  splice  and  during  the  sub- 
sequent stoppages,  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles 
of  the  cable.  During  the  latter  portion  of  the  day 
the  barometer  fell  considerably,  and  toward  the  even- 
ing it  blew  almost  a  gale  of  wind  from  the  eastward, 
lead  ahead  of  course.  As  the  breeze  freshened, 
the  speed  of  the  engines  was  gradually  increased, 
but  the  wind  more  than  increased  in  proportion, 
so  that,  before  the  sun  went  down,  the  Agarnem- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       205 

non  was  going  full  steam  against  the  wind,  only  mak- 
ing a  speed  of  about  four  knots  an  Lour.  During  the 
evening  topmasts  were  lowered,  and  spars,  yards,  sails, 
and  indeed  every  thing  aloft  that  could  offer  resistance 
to  the  wind,  was  sent  down  on  deck ;  but  still  the  ship 
made  but  little  way,  chiefly  in  consequence  of  the 
heavy  sea,  though  the  enormous  quantity  of  fuel  con- 
sumed showed  us  that,  if  the  wind  lasted,  we  should 
be  reduced  to  burning  the  masts,  spars,  and  even  the 
decks,  to  bring  the  ship  into  Yalentia. 

"  It  seemed  to  be  our  particular  ill-fortune  to  meet 
with  head-winds  whichever  way  the  ship's  head  was 
turned.  On  our  journey  out  we  had  been  delayed, 
and  obliged  to  consume  an  undue  proportion  of  coal, 
for  want  of  an  easterly  wind,  and  now  all  our  fuel  was 
wanted  because  of  one.  However,  during  the  next 
day  the  wind  gradually  went  around  to  the  south-west, 
which,  though  it  raised  a  very  heavy  sea.  allowed  us 
to  husband  our  small  remaining  store  of  fuel. 

"  At  noon  on  Saturday,  the  thirty-first  of  July,  ob- 
servations showed  us  to  have  made  good  one  hundred 
and  twenty  miles  of  distance  since  noon  of  the  pre- 
vious day,  with  a  loss  of  about  twenty-seven  per  cent 
of  cable.  The  Niagara,  as  far  as  could  be  judged  from 
the  amount  of  cable  she  paid  out,  which,  by  a  previ- 
ous arrangement,  was  signalled  at  every  ten  miles,  kept 
pace  with  us,  within  one  or  two  miles,  the  whole  dis- 


206       HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

tance  across.  During  tlie  afternoon  of  Saturday,  the 
wind  again  freshened  Tip,  and  before  nightfall  it  again 
blew  nearly  a  gale  of  wind,  and  a  tremendous  sea  ran 
before  it  from  the  south-west,  which  made  the  Aga- 
memnon pitch  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  thought 
impossible  the  cable  could  hold  on  through  the  night ; 
indeed,  had  it  not  been  for  the  constant  care  and  watch- 
fulness exercised  by  Mr.  Bright,  and  the  two  energetic 
engineers,  Mr.  Canning  and  Mr.  Clifford,  who  acted 
with  him,  it  could  not  have  been  done  at  all.  Men 
were  kept  at  the  wheels  of  the  machine  to  prevent 
their  stopping  as  the  stern  of  the  ship  rose  and  fell 
with  the  sea,  for,  had  they  done  so,  the  cable  must  un- 
doubtedly have  parted. 

"  During  Sunday  the  sea  and  wind  increased,  and 
before  the  evening  it  blew  a  smart  gale.  Now,  indeed, 
were  the  energy  and  activity  of  all  engaged  in  the 
operation  tasked  to  the  utmost.  Mr.  Hoar  and  Mr. 
Moore,  the  two  engineers  who  had  the  charge  of  the 
relieving- wheels  of  the  dynamometer,  had  to  keep 
watch  and  watch  alternately  every  four  hours,  and 
while  on  duty  durst  not  let  their  attention  be  removed 
from  their  occupation  for  one  moment,  for  on  their  re- 
leasing the  brakes  every  time  the  stern  of  the  ship  fell 
into  the  trough  of  the  sea  entirely  depended  the  safety 
of  the  cable,  and  the  result  shows  how  ably  they  dis- 
charged their  duty.  Throughout  the  night,  there  were 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       207 

few  who  had  the  least  expectation  of  the  cable  holding 
on  till  morning,  and  many  remained  awake  listening  for 
the  sound  that  all  most  dreaded  to  hear — namely,  the 
gun  which  should  announce  the  failure  of  all  our  hopes. 
But  still  the  cable,  which,  in  comparison  with  the  ship 
from  which  it  was  paid  out,  and  the  gigantic  waves 
among  which  it  was  delivered,  was  but  a  mere  thread, 
continued  to  hold  on,  only  leaving  a  silvery  phospho- 
rous line  upon  the  stupendous  seas  as  they  rolled  on 
toward  the  ship. 

"  With  Sunday  morning  came  no  improvement  in  the 
weather ;  still  the  sky  remained  black  and  stormy  to 
windward,  and  the  constant  violent  squalls  of  wind 
and  rain  which  prevailed  during  the  whole  day,  served 
to  keep  up,  if  not  to  augment  the  height  of  the  waves. 
But  the  cable  had  gone  through  so  much  daring  the 
night,  that  our  confidence  in  its  continuing  to  hold  was 
much  restored. 

"At  noon,  observations  showed  us  to  have  made 
good  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  noon  of 
the  previous  day,  and  about  three  hundred  and  six- 
ty from  our  starting-point  in  mid-ocean.  We  had 
passed  by  the  deepest  sounding  of  twenty-four  hun- 
dred fathoms,  and  over  more  than  half  of  the  deep 
water  generally,  while  the  amount  of  cable  still  re- 
maining in  the  ship  was  more  than  sufficient  to  carry 
us  to  the  Irish  coast,  even  supposing  the  continuance 


208       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH. 

of  the  bad  weather  should  oblige  us  to  pay  out  the 
same  amount  of  slack  cable  we  had  been  hitherto 
wasting.  Thus  far  things  looked. very  promising  for 
our  ultimate  success.  But  former  experience  showed 
us  only  too  plainly  that  we  could  never  suppose  that 
some  accident  might  not  arise  until  the  ends  had  been 
fairly  landed  on  the  opposite  shores. 

"During  Sunday  night  and  Monday  morning  the 
weather  continued  as  boisterous  as  ever,  and  it  was 
only  by  the  most  indefatigable  exertions  of  the  engi- 
neer upon  duty  that  the  wheels  could  be  prevented 
from  stopping  altogether,  as  the  vessel  rose  and  fell 
with  the  sea,  and  once  or  twice  they  did  come  com- 
pletely to  a  stand-still,  in  spite  of  all  that  could  be 
done  to  keep  them  moving ;  but  fortunately  they  were 
again  set  in  motion  before  the  stern  of  the  ship  was 
thrown  up  by  the  succeeding  wave.  No  strain  could 
be  placed  upon  the  cable,  of  course  ;  and  though  the 
dynamometer  occasionally  registered  seventeen  hun- 
dred pounds  as  the  ship  lifted,  it  was  oftener  below  one 
thousand,  and  was  frequently  nothing,  the  cable  run- 
ning out  as  fast  as  its  own  weight  and  the  speed  of  the 
ship  could  draw  it.  But  even  with  all  these  forces 
acting  unresistedly  upon  it,  the  cable  never  paid  itself 
out  at  a  greater  speed  than  eight  knots  an  hour  at  the 
time  the  ship  was  going  at  the  rate  of  six  knots  and  a 
half.  Subsequently,  however,  when  the  speed  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       209 

ship  even  exceeded  six  knots  and  a  half,  the  cable 
never  ran  out  so  quick.  The  average  speed  maintained 
by  the  ship  up  to  this  time,  and,  indeed,  for  the  whole 
voyage,  was  about  five  knots  and  a  half,  the  cable, 
with  occasional  exceptions,  running  about  thirty  per 
cent  faster. 

u  At  noon  on  Monday,  August  second,  had  made 
good  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  and  a  half  miles 
since  noon  of  the  previous  day,  and  completed  more 
than  the  half  way  to  our  ultimate  destination. 

"During  the  afternoon  an  American  three-masted 
schooner,  which  afterward  proved  to  be  the  Chieftain, 
was  seen  standing  from  the  eastward  toward  us.  No 
notice  was  taken  of  her  at  first,  but  when  she  was 
within  about  half  a  mile  of  the  Agamemnon  she  altered 
her  course,  and  bore  right  down  across  our  bows.  A 
collision,  which  might  prove  fatal  to  the  cable,  now 
seemed  inevitable,  or  could  only  be  avoided  by  the 
equally  hazardous  expedient  of  altering  the  Agamem- 
non's course.  The  Valorous  steamed  ahead,  and  fired 
a  gun  for  her  to  heave  to,  which,  as  she  did  not  ap- 
pear to  take  much  notice  of,  was  quickly  followed  by 
another  from  the  bows  of  the  Agamemnon,  and  a  se 
cond  and  third  from  the  Yalorous,  but  still  the  vessel 
held  on  her  course ;  and  as  the  only  resource  left  to 
avoid  a  collision,  the  course  of  the  Agamemnon  was 
altered  just  in  time  to  pass  within  a  few  yards  of  her. 


210       HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

It  was  evident  that  our  proceedings  were  a  source  of 
the  greatest  possible  astonishment  to  them,  for  all  her 
crew  crowded  upon  her  deck  and  rigging.  At  length 
they  evidently  discovered  who  we  were,  and  what  we 
were  doing,  for  the  crew  manned  the  rigging,  and  dip- 
ping the  ensign  several  times  they  gave  us  three  hearty 
cheers.  Though  the  Agamemnon  was  obliged  to  ac- 
knowledge these  congratulations  in  due  form,  the  feel- 
ings of  annoyance  with  which  we  regarded  the  vessel 
which,  either  by  the  stupidity  or  carelessness  of  those 
on  board,  was  so  near  adding  a  fatal  and  unexpected 
mishap  to  the  long  chapter  of  accidents  which  had  al- 
ready been  encountered,  may  easily  be  imagined.  To 
those  below,  who  of  course  did  not  see  the  ship  ap- 
proaching, the  sound  of  the  first  gun  came  like  a  thun- 
derbolt, for  all  took  it  as  the  signal  of.  the  breaking  of 
the  cable.  The  dinner-tables  were  deserted  in  a  mo- 
ment, and  a  general  rush  made  up  the  hatches  to  the 
deck  ;  but  before  reaching  it,  their  fears  were  quickly 
banished  by  the  report  of  the  succeeding  gun,  which 
all  knew  well  could  only  be  caused  by  a  ship  in  our 
way  or  a  man  overboard. 

"  Throughout  the  greater  portion  of  Monday  morn- 
ing the  electrical  signals  from  the  Niagara  had  been 
getting  gradually  weaker,  until  they  ceased  altogether 
for  nearly  three  quarters  of  an  hour.  Our  uneasiness, 
however,  was  in  some  degree  lessened  by  the  fact  that 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        211 

the  stoppage  appeared  to  be  a  want  of  continuity,  and 
not  any  defect  in  insulation,  and  there  was  consequent- 
ly every  reason  to  suppose  that  it  might  arise  from 
faulty  connection  on  board  the  Niagara.  Accordingly 
Professor  Thomson  sent  a  message  to  the  effect  that 
the  signals  were  too  weak  to  be  read,  and,  as  if  they 
had  been  awaiting  such  a  signal  to  increase  their  bat- 
tery power,  the  deflections  immediately  returned  even 
stronger  than  they  had  ever  been  before.  Toward 
the  evening,  however,  they  again  declined  in  force  for 
a  short  time.  "With  the  exception  of  these  little  stop- 
pages, the  electrical  condition  of  the  submerged  wire 
seemed  to  be  much  improved.  It  was  evident  that  the 
low  temperature  of  the  water  at  the  immense  depth 
improved  considerably  the  insulating  properties  of  the 
gutta-percha,  while  the  enormous  pressure  to  which  it 
must  have  been  subjected  probably  tended  to  consoli- 
date its  texture,  and  to  fill  up  any  air-bubbles  or  slight 
faults  in  manufacture  which  may  have  existed. 

"The  weather  during  Monday  night  moderated  a 
little,  but  still  there  was  a  very  heavy  sea  on,  which 
endangered  the  wire  every  second  minute. 

"  About  three  o'clock  on  Tuesday  morning,  all  on 
board  were  startled  from  their  beds  by  the  loud  boom- 
ing of  a  gun.  Every  one,  without  waiting  for  the  per- 
formance of  the  most  particular  toilet,  rushed  on  deck 
to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  disturbance.  Contrary  to 


212       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

all  expectation,  the  cable  was  safe,  but  just  in  the  gray 
light  could  be  seen  the  Valorous  rounded  to  in  the 
most  warlike  attitude,  firing  gun  after  gun  in  quick 
succession  toward  a  large  American  bark,  which, 
quite  unconscious  of  our  proceeding,  was  standing 
light  across  our  stern.  Such  loud  and  repeated  re- 
monstrances from  a  large  steam  frigate  were  not  to  be 
despised,  and,  evidently  without  knowing  the  why  or 
the  wherefore,  she  quickly  threw  her  sails  aback  and 
remained  hove  to.  Whether  those  on  board  her  con- 
sidered that  we  were  engaged  in  some  filibustering 
expedition,  or  regarded  our  proceedings  as  another 
British  outrage  upon  the  American  flag,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  say ;  but  certain  it  is  that,  apparently  in  great 
trepidation,  she  remained  hove  to  until  we  had  lost 
sight  of  her  in  the  distance. 

"Tuesday  was  a  much  finer  day  than  any  we  had 
experienced  for  nearly  a  week,  but  still  there  was  a 
considerable  sea  running,  and  our  dangers  were  far 
from  passed ;  yet  the  hopes  of  our  ultimate  success  ran 
high.  "We  had  accomplished  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
deep-sea  portion  of  the  route  in  safety,  and  that,  too, 
under  the  most  unfavorable  circumstances  possible; 
therefore  there  was  every  reason  to  believe  that  unless 
some  unforeseen  accident  should  occur,  we  should  ac- 
complish the  remainder. 

"About  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  steep  sub- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       213 

marine  mountain  which  divides  the  telegraphic  plateau 
from  the  Irish  coast  was  reached,  and  the  sudden  shal- 
lowing of  the  water  had  a  very  marked  effect  upon  the 
cable,  causing  the  strain  on  and  the  speed  of  it  to 
lessen  every  minute.  A  great  deal  of  slack  was  paid 
out  to  allow  for  any  great  inequalities  which  might 
exist,  though  undiscovered  by  the  sounding-line. 
About  ten  o'clock  the  shoal  water  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  fathoms  was  reached ;  the  only  remaining  anxiety 
now  was  the  changing  from  the  lower  main  coil  to  that 
upon  the  upper  deck,  and  this  most  difficult  and  dan- 
gerous operation  was  successfully  performed  between 
three  and  four  o'clock  on  Wednesday  morning. 

"  Wednesday  was  a  beautiful,  calm  day ;  indeed,  it 
was  the  first  on  which  any  one  would  have  thought  of 
making  a  splice  since  the  day  we  started  from  the 
rendezvous.  We  therefore  congratulated  ourselves  on 
having  saved  a  week  by  commencing  operations  on 
the  Thursday  previous.  At  noon,  we  were  eighty-nine 
miles  distant  from  the  telegraph  station  at  Yalentia. 
The  water  was  shallow,  so  that  there  was  no  difficulty 
in  paying  out  the  wire  almost  without  any  loss  of 
slack,  and  all  looked  upon  the  undertaking  as  virtually 
accomplished. 

"At  about  one  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  second 
change  from  the  upper-deck  coil  to  that  upon  the  orlop- 
deck  was  safely  effected,  and  shortly  after  the  vessels 


214       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

exchanged  signals  that  they  were  in  two  hundred 
fathoms  water.  As  the  night  advanced  the  speed  of 
the  ship  was  reduced,  as  it  was  known  that  we  were 
only  a  short  distance  from  the  land,  and  there  would 
be  no  advantage  in  making  it  before  daylight  in  the 
morning.  About  twelve  o'clock,  however,  the  Skel- 
ligs  Light  was  seen  in  the  distance,  and  the  Valorous 
steamed  on  ahead  to  lead  us  in  to  the  coast,  firing  rock- 
ets at  intervals  to  direct  us,  which  were  answered  by 
us  from  the  Agamemnon,  though,  according  to  Mr. 
Moriarty,  the  master's  wish,  the  ship,  disregarding  the 
Valorous,  kept  her  own  course,  which  proved  to  be 
the  right  one  in  the  end. 

"  By  daylight  on  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the  bold 
and  rocky  mountains  which  entirely  surround  the  wild 
arid  picturesque  neighborhood  of  Valentia,  rose  right 
before  us  at  a  few  miles'  distance.  Never,  probably, 
was  the  sight  of  land  more  welcome,  as  it  brought  to  a 
successful  termination  one  of  the  greatest,  but,  at  the 
same  time,  most  difficult  schemes  which  was  ever  un- 
dertaken. Had  it  been  the  dullest  and  most  melan- 
choly swamp  on  the  face  of  the  earth  that  lay  before 
us,  we  should  have  found  it  a  pleasant  prospect ;  but, 
as  the  sun  rose  from  the  estuary  of  Dingle  Bay,  ting- 
ing with  a  deep,  soft  purple  the  lofty  summits  of  the 
steep  mountains  which  surround  its  shores,  and  illu- 
minating the  masses  of  morning  vapor  which  hung 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGBAPH.       215 

upon  them,  it  was  a  scene  which  might  vie  in  beauty 
with  any  thing  that  could  be  produced  by  the  most 
florid  imagination  of  an  artist. 

"No  one  on  shore  was  apparently  conscious  of  our 
approach,  so  the  Valorous  steamed  ahead  to  the  mouth 
of  the  harbor  and  fired  a  gun.  Both  ships  made 
straight  for  Doulus  Bay,  and  about  six  o'clock  came 
to  anchor  at  the  side  of  Beginish  Island,  opposite  to 
Yalentia.  As  soon  as  the  inhabitants  became  aware 
of  our  approach,  there  was  a  general  desertion  of  the 
place,  and  hundreds  of  boats  crowded  around  us,  their 
passengers  in  the  greatest  state  of  excitement  to  hear 
all  about  our  voyage.  The  Knight  of  Kerry  was  ab- 
sent in  Dingle,  but  a  messenger  was  immediately  dis- 
patched for  him,  and  he  soon  arrived  in  Her  Majesty's 
gunboat  Shamrock.  Soon  after  our  arrival,  a  signal 
was  received  from  the  Niagara  that  they  were  prepar- 
ing to  land,  having  paid  out  one  thousand  and  thirty 
nautical  miles  of  cable,  while  the  Agamemnon  had  ac- 
complished her  portion  of  the  distance  with  an  expen- 
diture of  one  thousand  and  twenty  miles,  making  the 
total  length  of  the  wire  submerged  two  thousand  and 
fifty  geographical  miles.  Immediately  after  the  ships 
cast  anchor,  the  paddle-box  boats  of  the  Valorous  were 
got  ready,  and  two  miles  of  cable  coiled  away  in  them, 
for  the  purpose  of  landing  the  end ;  but  it  was  late  in 
the  afternoon  before  the  procession  of  boats  left  the 


21.6       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ship,  under  a  salute  of  three  rounds  of  small-arms  from 
the  detachment  of  marines  on  board  the  Agamemnon, 
ander  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Morris. 

"  The  progress  of  the  end  to  the  shore  was  very  slow, 
in  consequence  of  the  very  stiff  wind  which  blew  at 
the  time,  but  at  about  three  o'clock  the  end  was 
safely  brought  on  shore  at  Knightstown,  Yalentia,  by 
Mr.  Bright  and  Mr.  Canning,  the  chief  and  second  en- 
gineers, to  whose  exertions  the  success  of  the  under- 
taking is  attributable,  and  the  Knight  of  Kerry.*  The 
end  was  immediately  laid  in  the  trench  which  had 
been  dug  to  receive  it,  while  a  royal  salute,  making 
the  neighboring  rocks  and  mountains  reverberate,  an- 
nounced that  the  communication  between  the  Old  and 
the  New  World  had  been  completed." 

*  A  name  that  occurs  several  times  in  this  history,  and  one  never  tc 
be  mentioned  but  with  honor.  The  Knight  of  Kerry  is  a  Lord  of  the 
Isles  on  that  part  of  the  Irish  coast ;  and  from  the  constant  interest 
which  he  has  shown  in  this  enterprise,  and  his  generous  hospitality  to 
all  connected  with  it,  he  has  made  many  friends,  by  whom  he  will  be 
remembered  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 


CHAPTER  XL 

NEWS  OF  THE  SUCCESS.     GREAT  EXCITEMENT  IN  AMERICA.     POPULAR 
ENTHUSIASM.     CELEBRATION  in  NEW- YORK  AND  OTHER  CITIES. 

WHOEVER  shall  write  the  history  of  popular  enthu- 
siasms, must  give  a  large  space  to  the  Atlantic  Tele- 
graph. Never  did  the  tidings  of  any  great  achieve- 
ment— whether  in  peace  or  war — more  truly  electrify 
a  nation.  No  doubt,  the  impression  was  the  greater 
because  it  took  the  country  by  surprise.  Had  the 
attempt  succeeded  in  June,  it  would  have  found  a 
people  prepared  for  it.  But  the  failure  of  the  first  ex- 
pedition, added  to  that  of  the  previous  year,  settled 
the  fate  of  the  enterprise  in  the  minds  of  the  public. 
It  was  a  very  grand  but  hopeless  undertaking;  and 
its  projectors  shared  the  usual  lot  of  those  who  con- 
ceive vast  designs,  and  venture  on  great  enterprises, 
which  are  not  successful — to  be  regarded  with  a  mix- 
ture of.  derision  and  pity. 

Such  was  the  temper  of  the  public  mind,  when  at 
noon  of  Thursday,  the  fifth  of  August,  the  following 
despatch  was  received : 


218        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

"  UNITED  STATES  FRIGATE  NIAGARA,         ) 
TRINITY  BAY,  NEWFOUNDLAND,  August  5,  1858.  ) 

"To  THE  ASSOCIATED  PRESS,  NEW- YORK: 

"  The  Atlantic  Telegraph  fleet  sailed  from  Queens- 
town,  Ireland,  Saturday,  July  seventeenth,  and  met 
in  mid-ocean  Wednesday,  July  twenty- eighth.  Made 
the  splice  at  one  P.M.,  Thursday,  the  twenty-ninth,  and 
separated — the  Agamemnon  and  Valorous,  bound  to 
Valentia,  Ireland ;  the  Niagara  and  Gorgon,  for  this 
place,  where  they  arrived  yesterday,  and  this  morning 
the  end  of  the  cable  will  be  landed. 

"It  is  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  ninety-six 
nautical,  or  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty 
statute  miles  from  the  Telegraph  House  at  the  head  of 
Yalentia  harbor  to  the  Telegraph  House  at  the  Bay  of 
Bulls,  Trinity  Bay,  and  for  more  than  two  thirds 
of  this  distance  the  water  is  over  two  miles  in 
depth.  The  cable  has  been  paid  out  from  the  Aga- 
memnon at  about  the  same  speed  as  from  the  Niagara. 
The  electric  signals  sent  and  received  through  the 
whole  cable  are  perfect. 

"  The  machinery  for  paying  out  the  cable  worked 
in  the  most  satisfactory  manner,  and  was  not  stopped 
for  a  single  moment  from  the  time  the  splice  was 
made  until  we  arrived  here. 

"  Captain  Hudson,  Messrs.  Everett  and  Woodhouse, 
the  engineers,  the  electricians,  the  officers  of  the  ship, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        219 

and  in  fact,  every  man  on  board  the  telegraph  fleet, 
has  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  make  the  expe- 
dition successful,  and  by  the  blessing  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence it  has  succeeded. 

"After  the  end  of  the  cable  is  landed  and  connected 
with  the  land  line  of  telegraph,  and  the  Niagara  has 
discharged  some  cargo  belonging  to  the  Telegraph 
Company,  she  will  go  to  St.  John's  for  coal,  and  then 
proceed  at  once  to  New- York. 

"  CYRUS  W.  FIELD." 

The  impression  of  this  simple  announcement  it  is  im- 
possible to  conceive.  It  was  immediately  telegraphed 
to  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  everywhere 
produced  the  greatest  excitement.  In  some  places  all 
business  was  suspended ;  men  rushed  into  the  streets, 
and  flocked  to  the  offices  where  the  news  was  received. 
An  impressive  scene  was  witnessed  at  a  religious 
convocation  in  New-England.  At  Andover,  Mas- 
sachusetts, the  news  arrived  while  the  Alumni  of  the 
Theological  Seminary  were  celebrating  their  semi- 
centennial anniversary  by  a  dinner.  One  thousand 
persons  were  present,  all  of  whom  rose  to  their  feet, 
and  gave  vent  to  their  excited  feelings  by  continued 
and  enthusiastic  cheers.  When  quiet  was  restored, 
Rev.  Dr.  Adams,  of  New-York,  said  his  heart  was  too 
full  for  a  speech,  and  suggested,  as  the  more  fitting 


223        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

utterance  of  what  all  felt,  that  they  should  join  in 
thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God.  Kev.  Dr.  Hawes,  of 
Hartford,  then  led  the  assembly  in  fervent  prayer, 
acknowledging  the  great  event  as  from  the  hand  of 
God,  and  as  calculated  to  hasten  the  triumphs  of  civil- 
ization and  Christianity.  Then  all  standing  up  to- 
gether, sang,  to  the  tune  of  Old  Hundred,  the  majes- 
•  tic  doxology : 

"  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow, 
Praise  Him  all  creatures  here  below  ; 
Praise  Him  above,  ye  heavenly  host, 

Praise  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost !" 

• 

Thus — said  Dr.  Hawes — "  we  have  now  consecrated 
this  new  power,  so  far  as  our  agency  is  concerned,  to 
the  building  up  of  the  truth." 

In  New- York  the  news  was  received  at  first  with 
some  incredulity.  But  as  it  was  confirmed  .by  subse- 
quent dispatches,  the  city  broke  out  into  tumultuous 
rejoicing.  Never  was  there  such  an  outburst  of  popu- 
lar feeling.  In  Boston  a  hundred  guns  were  fired  on 
the  Common,  and  the  bells  of  the  city  were  rung  for 
an  hour  to  give  utterance  to  the  general  joy.  Similar 
scenes  were  witnessed  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 
I  have  now  before  me  the  New- York  papers  of  August, 
1858,  and  from  the  memorable  fifth,  when  the  landing 
took  place,  to  the  end  of  the  month,  they  contain  hard- 
ly any  thing  else  than  popular  demonstrations  in 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.       221 

honor  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph.  It  was  indeed  a 
national  jubilee. 

It  was  natural  that  this  overflow  of  public  feeling 
should  express  itself  towards  one  who  was  recognized 
as  the  author  of  the  great  work,  which  inspired  such 
universal  joy.  Mr.  Field,  much  to  his  own  surprise, 
"awoke  and  found  himself  famous."  In  twenty-four 
hours  his  name  was  on  millions  of  tongues.  Congratu- 
lations poured  in  from  all  quarters,  from  mayors  of 
cities  and  governors  of  States;  from  all  parts  of  the 
Union  and  the  British  Provinces  ;  from  the  President 
of  the  United  States  «and  the  Governor-General  of 
Canada.  Mr.  Buchanan  telegraphed  to  Mr.  Field,  at 
Trinity  Bay : 

"MY  DEAR  SIR:  I  congratulate  you  with  all  my 
heart  on  the  success  of  the  great  enterprise  with  which 
your  name  is  so  honorably  connected.  Under  the 
blessing  of  Divine  Providence  I  trust  it  may  prove  in- 
strumental in  promoting  perpetual  peace  and  friendship 
between  the  kindred  nations." 

The  popular  estimate  of  the  achievement  and  its 
author  went  still  farther.  With  the  natural  exaggera- 
tion common  to  masses  of  men,  when  carried  away  by 
a  sudden  enthusiasm,  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  was 
hailed  as  an  immense  stride  in  the  onward  progress  of 
the  race,  an  event  in  the  history  of  the  world  hardly 
inferior  to  the  discovery  of  America,  or  to  the  inven- 


222     HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

tion  of  the  art  of  printing ;  and  the  name  of  its  pro- 
jector was  coupled  with  those  of  Franklin  and  Colum- 
bus. He  who  but  yesterday  was  regarded  as  a  vision- 
ary, to-day  was  exalted  as  a  benefactor  of  his  country 
and  of  mankind. 

This  avalanche  of  praise  was  quite  overwhelming. 
It  is  always  embarrassing  to  be  forced  into  sud- 
den conspicuity,  and  to  find  one's  self  the  object  of 
general  attention  and  applause.  While  feeling  this 
embarrassment,  Mr.  Field  could  not  but  be  gratified 
to  witness  the  public  joy  at  the  success  of  the  enter- 
prise, and  he  was  deeply  touched  and  grateful  for  the 
appreciation  of  his  own  services.  But  probably  all 
these  public  demonstrations  did  not  go  to  his  heart  so 
much  as  private  letters  received  from  the  other  side  of 
the  Atlantic,  from  those  who  had  shared  the  labors  of 
the  enterprise — old  companions  in  arms  who  had  borne 
with  him  the  heavy  burden,  and  now  were  fully  en- 
titled to  a  share  in  the  honor  which  was  the  reward  of 
their  common  toil. 

As  a  sample  of  the  congratulations  which  came  from 
beyond  the  sea,  we  quote  a  single  passage  from  a  letter 
of  Mr.  George  Saward,  the  Secretary  of  the  Company 
in  London,  written  immediately  on  receiving  the  news 
of  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  Under  the  impression 
of  that  event,  he  writes  to  Mr.  Field : 

"At  last  the  great  work  is  successful.    I  rejoice  at 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       223 

it  for  tlie  sake  of  humanity  at  large.  I  rejoice  at  it  for 
the  sake  of  our  common  nationalities,  and  last  but  not 
least,  for  your  personal  sake.  I  most  heartily  and  sin- 
cerely rejoice  with  you,  and  congratulate  you,  upon 
this  happy  termination  to  the  trouble  and  anxiety,  the 
continuous  and  persevering  labor,  and  never-ceasing 
and  sleepless  energy,  which  the  successful  accomplish- 
ment of  this  vast  and  noble  enterprise  has  cost  you. 
Never  was  man  more  devoted — never  did  man's  energy 
better  deserve  success  than  yours  has  done.  May  you 
in  the  bosom  of  your  family  reap  those  rewards  of  re- 
pose and  affection,  which  will  be  doubly  sweet  from 
the  reflection,  that  you  return  to  them  after  having 
been  under  Providence  the  main  and  leading  principal 
in  conferring  a  vast  and  enduring  benefit  on  mankind. 
If  the  contemplation  of  fame  has  a  charm  for  you,  you 
may  well  indulge  in  the  reflection ;  for  the  name  of 
Cyrus  "W*.  Field  will  now  go  onward  to  immortality, 
as  long  as  that  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  shall  be 
known  to  mankind." 

The  Directors,  whose  faith  and  courage  had  been  so 
severely  tried,  now  felt  double  joy,  for  their  friend 
and  for  themselves,  at  this  glorious  result  of  their 
united  labors.  Mr.  Peabody  wrote  that  "  his  reflec- 
tions must  be  like  those  of  Columbus,  after  the  discov- 
ery of  America."  Sir  Charles  "Wood  and  Sir  John 
Pakington,  who,  as  successive  First  Lords  of  the  Ad- 


224:        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

miralty  had  supported  the  enterprise  with,  the  constant 
aid  of  the  British  Government,  wrote  to  Mr.  Field 
letters  of  congratulation  on  the  great  work  which  had 
been  carried  through  mainly  by  his  energy  and  un- 
conquerable will.  They  were  above  any  petty  na- 
tional jealousy,  and  never  imagined  that  it  would 
detract  aught  from  the  just  honor  of  England,  to 
award  full  praise  to  the  courage  and  enterprise  of  an 
American. 

On  his  part,  Mr.  Field  was  equally  anxious  to  ac- 
knowledge the  invaluable  aid  given  by  others — aid, 
without  which  the  efforts  of  no  single  individual 
could  command  success.  On  his  arrival  at  St.  John's, 
he  was  welcomed  with  enthusiasm  by  the  whole  pop- 
ulation. An  address  was  presented  to  him  by  the 
Executive  Council  of  Newfoundland,  in  which  they 
offer  their  hearty  congratulations  on  the  success  of 
the  undertaking,  which  they  recognize  as  chiefly  due 
to  him.  "  Intimately  acquainted  as  we  have  been  " — 
these  are  their  words — "  with  the  energy  and  enter- 
prise which  have  distinguished  you  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  great  work  of  telegraph  connection 
between  the  Old  and  the  New  Worlds ;  and  feeling 
that  under  Providence  this  triumph  of  science  is  mainly 
due  to  your  well-directed  and  indomitable  exertions,  we 
desire  to  express  to  you  our  high  appreciation  of  your 
success  to  the  cause  of  the  world's  progress,"  etc. ;  to 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       225 

which  Mr.  Field  replied,  recognizing  in  turn  the  cor- 
dial support  which  he  had  always  received  from  the 
Government  of  Newfoundland.  The  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  St.  John's  also  presented  an  address  in 
similar  terms,  to  which  he  replied  —  after  acknow- 
ledging their  kind  mention  of  his  own  labors  and 
sacrifices  : 

"But  it  would  not  only  be  ungenerous,  but  unjust, 
that  I  should  for  a  moment  forget  the  services  of  those 
who  were  my  co-workers  in  this  enterprise,  and  with- 
out whom  any  labors  of  mine  would  have  been  un- 
availing. It  would  be  difficult  to  enumerate  the 
many  gentlemen  whose  scientific  acquirements,  and 
skill  and  energy  have  been  devoted  to  the  advance- 
ment of  this  work,  and  who  have  so  mainly  produced 
the  issue  which  has  called  forth  this  expression  of 
your  good  wishes  on  my  behalf.  But  I  could  not  do 
justice  to  my  own  feelings  did  I  fail  to  acknowledge 
how  much  is  owing  to  Captain  Hudson  and  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Niagara,  whose  hearts  were  in  the  work, 
and  whose  toil  was  unceasing ;  to  Captain  Dayman  of 
her  Majesty's  ship  Gorgon,  for  the  soundings  so  accu- 
rately made  by  him  last  year,  and  for  the  perfect  man- 
ner in  which  he  led  the  Niagara  over  the  great-circle 
arc  while  laying  the  cable ;  to  Captain  Otter,  of  the 
Porcupine,  for  the  careful  survey  made  by  him  in 
Trinity  Bay,  and  for  the  admirable  manner  in  which 


226       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

he  piloted  the  Niagara  at  night  to  her  anchorage  ;  to 
Mr.  Everett,  who  has  for  months  devoted  his  whole 
time  to  designing  and  perfecting  the  beautiful  ma- 
chinery that  has  so  successfully  paid  out  the  cable 
from  the  ships — machinery  so  perfect  in  every  respect, 
that  it  was  not  for  one  moment  stopped  on  board  the 
Niagara  until  she  reached  her  destination  in  Trinity 
Bay  ;  to  Mr.  Woodhouse,  who  superintended  the  coil- 
ing of  the  cable,  and  zealously  and  ably  cooperated 
with  his  brother  engineer  during  the  progress  of  pay- 
ing out ;  to  the  electricians  for  their  constant  watch- 
fulness ;  to  the  men  for  their  almost  ceaseless  labor ; 
(and  I  feel  confident  that  you  will  have  a  good  report 
from  the  commanders,  engineers,  electricians,  and 
others  on  board  the  Agamemnon  and  Valorous,  the 
Irish  portion  of  the  fleet ;)  to  the  Directors  of  the  At- 
lantic Telegraph  Company  for  the  time  they  have  de- 
voted to  the  undertaking  without  receiving  any  com- 
pensation for  their  services,  (and  it  must  be  a  pleasure 
to  many  of  you  to  know  that  the  director,  who  has 
devoted  more  time  than  any  other,  was  for  many 
years  a  resident  of  this  place,  and  well  known  to  all 
of  you — I  allude  to  Mr.  Brooking,  of  London ;)  to 
Mr.  C.  M.  Lampson,  a  native  of  New-England,  bu 
who  has  for  the  last  twenty-seven  years  resided  in 
London,  who  appreciated  the  great  importance  of  this 
enterprise  to  both  countries,  and  gave  it  most  valuable 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       227 

aid,  bringing  his  sound  judgment  and  great  business 
talent  to  the  service  of  the  Compan y  ;  to  that  distin- 
guished American,  Mr.  George  Peabody,  and  his  most 
worthy  partner,  Mr.  Morgan,  who  not  only  assisted  it 
most  liberally  with  their  means,  but  to  whom  I  could 
always  go  with  confidence  for  advice." 

Such  acknowledgments,  constantly  repeated,  showed 
a  mind  incapable  of  envy  or  jealousy ;  that  was  chiefly 
anxious  to  recognize  the  services  of  others,  and  that 
they  should  receive  from  the  public,  both  of  England 
and  America,  the  honors  which  they  had  so  nobly 
earned. 

After  two  or  three  days'  delay  at  St.  John's,  which 
the  Niagara  was  obliged  to  make  for  coal,  but  which 
the  people  spent  in  festivity  and  rejoicing,  she  left 
for  New- York,  where  she  arrived  on  the  eighteenth — 
two  weeks  from  the  landing  of  the  cable  in  Trinity 
Bay.  These  had  been  weeks  of  great  excitement,  yet 
not  unmingled  with  suspense  and  anxiety.  The  pub- 
lic, eager  for  news,  devoured  every  thing  that  con- 
cerned the  telegraph  with  impatience,  but  all  was  not 
satisfactory.  Dispatches  from  Trinity  Bay  said  that 
signals  were  continually  passing  over  the  cable,  yet 
no  news  reached  the  public  from  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  This  was  partially  explained  by  a  dispatch 
from  Mr.  Field,  sent  from  Trinity  Bay  to  the  Asso- 
ciated Press  as  early  as  the  seventh : 


228       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

"  We  landed  here  in  the  woods,  and  until  the  tel- 
egraph instruments  are  all  ready,  and  perfectly  adjust- 
ed, no  communications  can  pass  between  the  two  con- 
tinents ;  but  the  electric  currents  are  received  freely. 

"  You  shall  have  the  earliest  intimation  when  all  is 
ready,  but  it  may  be  some  days  before  every  thing  is 
perfected.  The  first  through  message  between  Europe 
and  America  will  be  from  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  second 
his  reply." 

But  as  the  public  grew  more  impatient,  and  friends 
sent  anxious  inquiring  messages,  he  telegraphed  again 
from  St.  John's  on  the  eleventh  : 

"  Before  I  left  London,  the  Directors  of  the  Atlantic 
Telegraph  Company  decided  unanimously  that,  after 
the  cable  was  laid,  and  the  Queen's  and  President's 
messages  transmitted,  the  line  should  be  kept  for  sev- 
eral weeks  for  the  sole  use  of  Dr.  "Whitehouse,  Pro- 
fessor Thomson,  and  other  electricians,  to  enable  them 
to  test  thoroughly  their  several  modes  of  telegraphing, 
so  that  the  Directors  might  decide  which  was  the  best 
and  most  rapid  method  for  future  use ;  for  it  was  con- 
sidered that  after  the  line  should  be  once  thrown  open 
for  business,  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  obtain  it  for 
experimental  purposes,  even  for  a  short  time. 

"Due  notice  will  be  given  when  the  line  will  be 
ready  for  business,  and  the  tariff  of  prices." 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        229 

Still  the  public  were  not  satisfied,  and  many  were 
beginning  to  doubt,  when,  on  the  sixteenth,  it  was 
suddenly  announced  that  the  Queen's  message  was  re- 
ceived. As  this  was  between  the  heads  of  the  two 
countries,  we  give  both  the  message  and  the  reply : 

u  To  THE  PRESIDENT  or  THE  UNITED  STATES,  WASHINGTON  : 

"  The  Queen  desires  to  congratulate  the  President 
upon  the  successful  completion  of  this  great  inter- 
national work,  in  which  the  Queen  has  taken  the 
deepest  interest. 

"  The  Queen  is  convinced  that  the  President  will 
join  with  her  in  fervently  hoping  that  the  electric 
cable  which  now  connects  Great  Britain  with  the 
United  States  will  prove  an  additional  link  between 
the  nations,  whose  friendship  is  founded  upon  their 
common  interest  and  reciprocal  esteem. 

"  The  Queen  has  much  pleasure  in  thus  communi- 
cating with  the  President,  and  renewing  to  him  her 
wishes  for  the  prosperity  of  the  United  States." 

"  WASHINGTON  CITY,  August  16,  1858. 
"  To  HEE  MAJESTY  VICTORIA,  THE  QUEEN  OP  GREAT  BRITAIN  : 

"  The  President  cordially  reciprocates  the  congratu- 
lations of  her  Majesty  the  Queen,  on  the  success  of  the 
great  international  enterprise  accomplished  by  the 
science,  skill,  and  indomitable  energy  of  the  two 
countries. 


230       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

"  It  is  a  triumph,  more  glorious,  because  far  more 
useful  to  mankind,  than  was  ever  won  by  conqueror 
on  the  field  of  battle. 

"  May  the  Atlantic  Telegraph,  under  the  blessing 
of  Heaven,  prove  to  be  a  bond  of  perpetual  peace  and 
friendship  between  the  kindred  nations,  and  an  instru- 
ment destined  by  Divine  Providence  to  diffuse  reli- 
gion, civilization,  liberty,  and  law  throughout  the 
world. 

"  In  this  view,  will  not  all  nations  of  Christendom 
spontaneously  unite  in  the  declaration  that  it  shall  be 
for  ever  neutral,  and  that  its  communications  shall  be 
held  sacred  in  passing  to  their  places  of  destination, 
even  in  the  midst  of  hostilities  ? 

"JAMES  BUCHANAN." 

The  arrival  of  the  Queen's  message  was  the  signal 
for  a  fresh  outbreak  of  popular  enthusiasm.  The  next 
morning,  August  seventeenth,  the  city  of  New- York 
was  awakened  by  the  thunder  of  artillery.  A  hun- 
dred guns  were  fired  in  the  Park  at  daybreak,  and  the 
salute  was  repeated  at  noon.  At  this  hour,  flags  were 
flying  from  all  the  public  buildings,  and  the  bells  of 
the  principal  churches  began  to. ring,  reminding  one  of 
Tennyson's  ode  to  the  happy  Christmas  bells  that  were 
ringing  out  the  departing  year : 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        231 

Ring  out  the  old,  ring  in  the  new, 
Ring  out  the  false,  ring  in  the  true. 

That  night  the  city  was  illuminated.  Never  had  it 
seen  such  a  brilliant  spectacle.  It  seemed  as  if  it  were 
intended  to  light  up  the  very  heavens.  Such  was  the 
blaze  of  light  around  the  City  Hall,  that  the  cupola 
caught  fire,  and  was  consumed,  and  the  Hall  itself  nar- 
rowly escaped  destruction.  Similar  demonstrations 
took  place  in  other  parts  of  the  United  States.  From 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  in  every  city  was  heard  the  firing 
of  guns  and  the  ringing  of  bells.  Nothing  seemed  too 
extravagant  to  give  expression  to  the  popular  rejoic- 
ing. 

The  next  morning  after  this  illumination,  the  Nia- 
gara entered  the  harbor  of  New- York,  and  Mr.  Field 
hastened  to  his  home.  The  night  before  leaving  the 
ship,  he  had  written  to  a  late  hour  to  the  Directors  in 
London,  giving  a  full  report  of  the  laying  of  the  cable, 
which  he  closed  by  resigning  the  position  which  he 
had  held  for  the  last  seven  months.  He  wrote : 

"  At  your  unanimous  request,  but  at  a  very  great 
personal  sacrifice  to  myself,  I  accepted  the  office  of 
General  Manager  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company, 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  doing  all  in  my  power  to  aid 
you  to  make  the  enterprise  successful ;  and  as  that 
object  has  been  attained,  you  will  please  accept  my 


232        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

resignation.  It  will  always  afford  me  pleasure  to  do 
any  thing  in  my  power,  consistent  with  my  duties  to 
my  family  and  my  own  private  affairs,  to  promote  the 
interests  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company." 

Once  more  with  his  family,  Mr.  Field  hoped  for  a 
brief  interval  of  rest  and  quiet.  But  this  was  impos- 
sible. The  great  event  with  which  his  name  was  con- 
nected was  too  fresh,  in  the  public  mind.  He  could 
not  escape  public  observation.  He  was  at  once  throng- 
ed with  visitors,  offering  their  congratulations,  and 
his  house  surrounded  with  crowds  eager  to  see  and 
hear  him.  While  making  all  allowance  for  popular 
excitement,  yet  none  could  deny  that  a  service  so 
great  demanded  some  public  recognition.  Even  in 
England,  where  the  enthusiasm  did  not  approach  that 
in  this  country,  still  the  wondrous  character  of  the 
achievement  was  fully  acknowledged.  Said  the  Lon- 
don Times  on  the  morning  of  the  sixth  of  August: 
"Since  the  discovery  of  Columbus,  nothing  has  been 
done  in  any  degree  comparable  to  the  vast  enlargement 
which  has  thus  been  given  to  the  sphere  of  human 
activity."  "  More  was  done  yesterday  for  the  consoli- 
dation of  our  empire,  than  the  wisdom  of  our  states- 
men, the  liberality  of  our  Legislature,  or  the  loyalty 
of  our  colonists,  could  ever  have  effected."  To  mark 
the  public  benefit  which  had  been  conferred,  the 
Chief-Engineer  of  the  Expedition,  Mr.  Charles  T. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        233 

Bright,  was  knighted,  and  Captains  Freed j  and  Aid- 
ham  were  both  made  Companions  of  the  Bath.  Thus 
England  showed  her  appreciation  of  their  services. 

But  in  this  country  titles  and  honors  come  not  from 
the  Government,  but  from  the  people.  Popular  en- 
thusiasm exhausted  itself  in  eulogies  of  the  man  who 
had  linked  the  Old  World  to  the  New.  It  seems 
strange  now  to  sit  down  in  cool  blood  and  read  what 
was  published  in  the  papers  of  that  day.  A  collec- 
tion of  American  journals  issued  during  that  eventful 
month,  August,  1858,  would  be  a  literary  curiosity.* 

*  Such  a  curiosity  exists,  prepared  by  the  industry  of  a  gentleman 
who  is  one  of  the  most  careful  collectors  of  the  events  of  his  time — 
thus  gathering  up  and  preserving  the  materials  of  future  history — Mr. 
John  R.  Bartlett,  Secretary  of  State  of  Rhode  Island.  This  gentleman 
has  kept  files  of  all  the  papers  referring  to  the  Atlantic  Telegraph,  from 
which  he  has  compiled  a  very  unique  volume.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a 
scrap-book,  but  on  a  gigantic  scale,  being  of  a  size  equal  to  Web- 
ster's large  Dictionary.  It  is  made  up  entirely  of  newspaper  cut- 
tings, classified  under  different  heads,  and  neatly  arranged  in  double 
columns  on  nearly  four  hundred  folio  pages.  The  matter  thus  com- 
pressed would  make  between  three  and  four  octavo  volumes  of  the  size 
of  Prescott's  Histories,  if  printed  in  the  style  of  those  works.  Every 
thing  is  included  that  could  be  gathered  from  the  European  as  well  as 
American  papers,  touching  the  claims  of  the  inventors  and  projectors 
of  the  electric  telegraph  in  general,  and  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  in 
particular.  The  historical  sketches  are  set  off  by  illustrations  taken 
from  the  pictorial  papers.  Altogether  it  embraces  more  of  the  mate- 
rials of  a  history  of  this  subject  than  any  volume  with  which  we  are 


231        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

Nor  was  it  merely  in  such  outward  demonstrations 
that  the  public  enthusiasm  showed  itself.  The  feeling 
struck  deeper,  and  reached  all  minds.  "While  the  peo- 
ple shouted  and  cannon  roared,  sober  and  thoughtful 
men  pondered  on  the  change  that  was  being  wrought 
in  the  earth.  Business  men  reasoned  how  it  would 
affect  the  commerce  of  the  world,  while  the  philanthro- 
pic regarded  it  as  the  forerunner  of  an  age  of  universal 
peace.  The  first  message  flashed  across  the  sea — even 
before  that  of  the  Queen — had  been  one  of  religious 
exultation.  It  was  from  the  Directors  in  Great  Bri- 
tain to  those  on  this  side  the  Atlantic,  and,  simply  re- 
citing the  fact  that  Europe  and  America  were  united  by 
telegraph,  at  once  broke  into  a  strain  of  religious  rap- 
ture, echoing  the  song  of  the  angels  over  a  Saviour's 
birth :  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest ;  on  earth,  peace, 
good- will  toward  men."  Poetry  at  once  caught  up  the 
strain.  The  event  became  the  theme  of  innumerable 

acquainted,  and  well  deserves  the  title  prefixed  to  it  by  the  laborious 
compiler : 

"THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. — Its  Origin  and  History,  with  an  Ac 
count  of  the  Voyages  of  the  Steamers  Niagara  and  Agamemnon,  in  Lay- 
ing the  Cable,  and  of  the  Celebration  of  the  Great  Event  in  New- York, 
Philadelphia,  Brooklyn,  Montreal,  Dublin,  Paris,  etc. ;  together  with  th 
Discussions,  Sermons,  Poetry,  and  Anecdotes  relating  thereto ;  also,  a 
History  of  the  Invention  of  the  Electric  Telegraph.  Illustrated  with 
Maps,  Plans,  Yiews,  and  Portraits,  collected  from  the  Newspapers  of 
the  Day,  and  arranged  by  John  Russell  Bartlett.  1858." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.         235 

odes  and  hymns,  of  which  it  must  be  said  that,  what- 
ever their  merit  as  poetry,  their  spirit  at  least  was  no- 
ble, celebrating  the  event  chiefly  as  promoting  the 
brotherhood  of  the  human  family.  The  key-note  was 
struck  in  such  lines  as  these  : 

"Tis  done  !  the  angry  sea  consents, 

The  nations  stand  no  more  apart, 
With  clasped  hands  the  continents 

Feel  throbbings  of  each  other's  heart. 

Speed,  speed  the  cable ;  let  it  run 

A  loving  girdle  round  the  earth, 
Till  all  the  nations  'neath  the  sun 

Shall  be  as  brothers  of  one  hearth  ; 

As  brothers  pledging,  hand  in  hand, 

One  freedom  for  the  world  abroad, 
One  commerce  over  every  land, 

One  language  and  one  God. 

The  sermons  preached  on  this  occasion  were  literal- 
ly without  number.  Enough  found  their  way  into 
print  to  make  a  large  volume.  Never  had  an  event 
touched  more  deeply  the  spirit  of  religious  enthusiasm 
Devout  men  held  it  as  an  advance  toward  that  millen- 
nial era  which  was  at  once  the  object  of  their  faith  and 
hope.  "Was  not  this  the  predicted  time  when,  "  many 
should  run  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge  should  be  in- 
creased ?"  So  said  the  preachers,  taking  for  their  fa- 
vorite texts  the  vision  of  the  Psalmist,  "  Their  line  ifl 


236       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

gone  out  through  all  the  earth,  and  their  words  to  the 
end  of  the  world  ;"  or  the  question  of  Job :  "  Canst 
thou  send  forth  the  lightnings,  that  they  may  go  and 
say  unto  thee,  Here  we  are  ?"  Was  not  this  the  dawn 
of  that  happy  age,  when  all  men  should  be  bound  to- 
gether in  peaceful  intercourse,  and  nations  should 
learn  war  no  more  ?  Such  was  the  burden  of  the  dis- 
courses that  were  preached  in  a  thousand  pulpits  from 
one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other.  Even  the  Eoman 
Catholic  Church,  so  lofty  and  inflexible  in  its  claims, 
soaring  into  the  past  centuries,  and  almost  disdaining 
the  material  progress  of  the  present  day  as  compared 
with  the  spiritual  glories  of  the  Ages  of  Faith,  did  not 
ignore  the  great  event ;  and  in  laying  the  foundation 
of  the  new  Cathedral  of  St.  Patrick,  the  largest  temple 
of  religion  on  the  continent,  Archbishop  Hughes  placed 
under  the  corner-stone  an  inscription,  wherein,  along 
with  the  enduring  record  of  the  Christian  faith  and  the 
names  of  martyrs  and  confessors,  he  did  not  disdain  to 
include  a  brief  memorial  of  this  last  achievement  of 
science,  and  the  name  of  him  who  had  conferred  so 
great  a  benefit  on  mankind. 

These  public  demonstrations  culminated  on  the  first 
of  September,  when  the  city  authorities  gave  a  public 
ovation  to  Mr.  Field  and  the  officers  of  the  expedition. 
In  accepting  these  honors,  Mr.  Field  had  taken  good 
care  that  the  British  officers  should  be  included  with 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH.       237 

the  American.  .  At  St.  John's  he  had  been  notified  of 
the  intended  celebration,  and  at  once  telegraphed  to 
the  British  Admiral  at  Halifax : 

"  I  should  consider  it  a  very  great  personal  favor  if 
you  would  permit  the  Gorgon,  Captain  Dayman,  to 
accompany  the  Niagara,  Captain  Hudson,  to  New- 
York.  English  officers  and  English  sailors  have  la- 
bored with  American  officers  and  American  sailors  to 
lay  the  Atlantic  cable.  They  were  with  us  in  our 
days  of  trial,  and  pray  let  them,  if  you  can,  share 
with  us  our  triumph." 

The  request  was  granted  so  far  as  this,  that  the  offi- 
cers were  allowed  leave  of  absence,  and  came  on  to 
New- York  to  take  part  in  the  celebration,  and  in  all 
the  honors  which  followed,  the  officers  of  the  Gorgon 
were  associated  with  those  of  the  Niagara. 

The  day  arrived,  and  the  celebration  surpassed  any 
thing  which  the  city  had  ever  witnessed  before.  It 
was  a  mild  autumn  day — warm,  yet  with  a  sky  softly 
veiled  with  clouds,  that  seemed  to  invite  a  whole  po- 
pulation into  the  streets.  The  day  commenced  with  a 
solemn  service  at  Trinity  Church,  which  was  attended 
by  the  city  authorities,  the  representatives  of  foreign 
powers,  and  an  immense  concourse  of  people.  The  vast 
edifice  was  decorated  with  evergreens ;  in  the  centre 
hung  a  cross,  with  the  inscription  :  "  Glory  to  God  on 
high ;  and  on  earth,  peace,  good  will  towards  men." 


238        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

When  the  audience  were  assembled,  there  entered  a 
procession  of  two  hundred  clergy,  headed  by  Bishop 
Doane  of  New- Jersey,  who  was  to  deliver  the  address. 
Prayers  were  offered  and  Scriptures  were  read,  and  at 
intervals  the  choir  burst  forth  in  those  anthems  in 
which  for  ages  the  Church  has  been  wont  to  pour  forth 
its  joy  and  exultation :  "  0  come,  let  us  sing  unto  the 
Lord,"  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  and  the  Te  Deum  Lau~ 
damns. 

At  noon,  Mr.  Field  and  the  officers  of  the  ships  land- 
ed at  Castle  Garden  and  were  received  with  a  national 
salute.  A  procession  was  formed  which  extended  for 
miles  through  the  streets  from  the  Battery  to  the  Crys- 
tal Palace.  In  the  procession  were  Lord  Napier,  the 
British  Minister,  and  officers  of  the  army  and  navy. 
For  the  whole  distance  the  streets  were  crowded.  The 
windows  and  even  the  tops  of  the  houses  were  filled 
with  people.  Everywhere  flags  and  banners,  with 
every  device,  floated  in  the  air.  So  dense  was  the 
crowd  that  it  was  five  or  six  hours  before  the  proces- 
sion could  reach  the  Crystal  Palace. 

Here  its  coming  was  awaited  by  an  assembly  that 
filled  all  the  aisles'and  galleries.  An  address  was  de- 
livered, giving  the  history  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph. 
The  Mayor  then  rose,  and  presenting  Mr.  Field  to  the 
audience,  spoke  as  follows : 

"  SIR  :  History  records  but  few  enterprises  of  such 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       239 

1  great  pith  and  moment '  as  to  command  the  attention 
and  at  the  same  time  enlist  the  sympathies  of  all  man- 
kind.    In  all  ages  warlike  expeditions  have  been  un- 
dertaken on  a  scale  of  grandeur  sufficient  to  astonish 
the  world;  but  the  evils  which  are  inseparable  from 
their  prosecution  have  always  sent  a  thrill  of  horror 
through  the  anxious  nations.     The  discovery  of  the 
Western  continent  even,  the  grandest  event  of  modern 
times,  was  made  by  an  insignificant  fleet  which  left  the 
shores  of  Portugal  without  attracting  the  notice  of  the 
civilized  world.     Far  different  has  been  the  history  of 
the  daring  and  difficult  enterprise  of  uniting  the  Old 
World  and  the  New  by  means  of  the  electric  tele- 
graph.     From   the  very  outset  the  good,  the  great 
and  the  wise  of  all  lands  beneath  the  sun,  have  watched 
with  intense  anxiety,  and  even  when  doubt  existed, 
with  warm  interest,  every  step  taken  toward  the  ac- 
complishment of  what  was  universally  acknowledged 
to  be  the  most  momentous  undertaking  of  an  age  made 
marvellous  by  wonderful   scientific   and  mechanical 
achievements.     The  two  greatest  and  freest  nations  of 
the  globe,  by  independent  constitutional  legislation, 
and  by  the  aid  of  their  finest  ships  and  their  ablest 
officers  and   engineers,  combined  together  to  insure 
success.     Capital  was  liberally  subscribed  by  private 
citizens  in  a  spirit  which  put  greed  to  the  blush.    The 
press  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  recorded  the  de- 


240       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

tails  of  the  progress  of  the  undertaking  with,  cordial 
interest,  and  secured  the  generous  sympathies  of  men 
of  all  kindreds  and  tongues  and  nations  in  its  behalf. 
You  were  thus  fortunate,  sir,  in  being  identified  with 
a  project  of  such  magnificent  proportions  and  univer- 
sal concern.  But  the  enterprise  itself  was  no  less  for- 
tunate in  being  projected  and  carried  into  execution 
by  a  man  whom  no  obstacles  could  daunt,  no  disasters 
discourage,  no  doubts  paralyze,  no  opposition  disheart- 
en. If  you,  to  whom  the  conduct  of  this  great  enter- 
prise was  assigned  by  the  will  of  Providence  and  the 
judgment  of  your  fellow-men,  had  been  found  wanting 
in  courage,  in  energy,  in  determination,  and  in  a  faith 
that  was  truly  sublime,  the  very  grandeur  of  the  un- 
dertaking would  only  have  rendered  its  failure  the 
more  conspicuous.  But,  sir,  the  incidents  of  the  expe- 
dition, and  the  final  result — too  familiar  to  all  the 
world  to  need  repetition  here — have  demonstrated  that 
you  possessed  all  the  qualities  essential  to  achieve  a  suc- 
cessful issue.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  you  now  stand 
out  from  among  your  fellow-men  a  mark  for  their  cor 
dial  admiration  and  grateful  applause.  The  city  of 
your  home  delights  to  honor  you;  your  fellow-citizens, 
conscious  that  the  glory  of  your  success  is  reflected 
back  upon  them,  are  proud  that  your  lot  has  been  cast 
among  them.  They  have  already  testified  their  appre- 
ciation of  your  great  services  and  heroic  perseverance 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        241 

by  illuminations,  processions,  serenades,  and  addresses. 
And  now,  sir,  the  municipal  government  of  this,  the 
first  city  on  the  Western  continent,  instruct  me,  who 
have  never  felt  the  honor  of  being  its  chief  magistrate 
so  sensibly  as  in  the  presence  of  this  vast  assemblage 
of  its  fair  women,  and  substantial  citizens,  to  present  to 
you  a  gold  box,  with  the  arms  of  the  city  engraved 
thereon,  in  testimony  of  the  fact  that  to  you  mainly, 
under  Divine  Providence,  the  world  is  indebted  for 
the  successful  execution  of  the  grandest  enterprise  of 
our  day  and  generation ;  and  in  behalf  of  the  Mayor, 
Aldermen,  and  Commonalty  of  the  city  of  New- York, 
I  now  request  your  acceptance  of  this  token  of  their 
approbation.  In  conclusion,  sir,  of  this,  the  most  agree- 
able duty  of  my  public  life,  I  sincerely  trust  that  your 
days  may  be  long  in  the  land,  and  as  prosperous  and 
honorable  as  your  achievement  in  uniting  the  two 
hemispheres  by  a  chord  of  electric  communication  has 
been  successful  and  glorious." 

To  this  flattering  address,  Mr.  Field  replied  : 
"  SIR  :  This  will  be  a  memorable  day  in  my  life ;  not 
only  because  it  celebrates  the  success  of  an  achieve- 
ment with  which  my  name  is  connected,  but  because 
the  honor  comes  from  the  city  of  my  home  —  the 
metropolitan  city  of  the  new  world.  I  see  here  not 
only  the  civic  authorities  and  citizens  at  large,  but 
my  own  personal  friends — men  with  whom  I  have 
been  connected  in  business  and  friendly  intercourse 


24:2       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH, 

for  the  greater  part  of  my  life.  Five  weeks  ago,  this 
day  and  hour,  I  was  standing  on  the  deck  of  the 
Niagara,  in  mid-ocean,  with  the  Gorgon  and  Valor- 
ous in  sight,  waiting  for  the  Agamemnon.  The  day 
was  cold  and  cheerless,  the  air  was  misty,  and  the 
wind  roughened  the  sea ;  and  when  I  thought  of  all 
that  we  had  passed  through — of  the  hopes  thus  far 
disappointed,  of  the  friends  saddened  by  our  reverses, 
of  the  few  that  remained  to  sustain  us — I  felt  a  load 
at  my  heart  almost  too  heavy  to  bear,  though  my  con- 
fidence was  firm,  and  my  determination  fixed.  How 
different  is  the  scene  now  before  me — this  vast  crowd 
testifying  their  sympathy  and  approval,  praises  with- 
out stint,  and  friends  without  number!  This  occa- 
sion, sir,  gives  me  the  opportunity  to  express  my 
thanks  for  the  enthusiastic  reception  which  I  have 
received,  and  I  here  make  my  acknowledgments  be- 
fore this  vast  concourse  of  my  fellow-citizens.  To  the 
ladies  I  may,  perhaps,  add,  that  they  have  had  their 
appropriate  place,  for  when  the  cable  was  laid,  the 
first  public  message  that  passed  over  it  came  from 
one  of  their  own  sex.  This  box,  sir,  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  receive  from  your  hand,  shall  testify  to 
me  and  to  my  children  what  my  own  city  thinks  of 
my  acts.  For  your  kindness,  sir,  expressed  in  such 
flattering,  too  flattering  terms,  and  for  the  kindness 
of  my  fellow-citizens,  I  repeat  my  most  heartfelt 
thanks." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        243. 

The  enthusiasm  with  which  this  address  was  re- 
ceived reached  its  height,  when  at  the  close,  Mr. 
Field  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the  platform,  and 
unrolling  a  despatch,  held  it  up,  saying:  "Gentlemen, 
I  have  just  received  a  telegraphic  message  from  a  little 
village,  now  a  suburb  of  New-York,  which  I  will  read 

to  you : 

"  LONDON,  September  1,  1858, 

"  To  CYRUS  W.  FIELD,  New- York : 

"  The  directors  are  on  their  way  to  Yalentia,  to 
make  arrangements  for  opening  the  line  to  the  pub- 
lic. They  convey,  through  the  cable,  to  you  and 
your  fellow-citizens,  their  hearty  congratulations  and 
good  wishes,  and  cordially  sympathize  in  your  joy- 
ous celebration  of  the  great  international  work."* 

A  gold  medal  was  presented  to  Captain  Hudson, 
with  an  address,  to  which  he  made  a  fitting  reply. 
Similar  testimonials  were  presented  to  all  the  English 
captains  through  Mr.  Archibald,  the  British  Consul, 

*  The  history  of  this  despatch  is  curious.  Though  dated  at  Lon- 
don, it  was  sent  from  a  small  town  in  Ireland.  The  directors  were 
on  their  way  from  Dublin  to  Valentia,  on  the  morning  of  the  first 
of  September,  when  Mr.  Saward  remarked :  "  This  is  the  day  of  the 
celebration  in  New- York — we  ought  to  send  a  despatch  to  Mr.  Field." 
Accordingly,  at  the  first  stopping-place,  (we  think  it  was  Mallow  Sta- 
tion,) the  message  was  written,  and  forwarded  to  Valentia,  and  thence 
sent  across  the  Atlantic.  It  was  put  into  Mr.  Field's  hand  just  as  ho 
was  getting  into  his  carriage  on  the  Battery. 


2-14        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

who  replied  for  his  absent  countrymen,  after  which 
the  whole  audience  rose  to  their  feet,  as  the  band 
played  "  God  save  the  Queen." 

It  was  long  after  dark  when  the  exercises  closed, 
and  the  vast  multitude  dispersed. 

The  night  witnessed  one  of  those  displays  for  which 
New- York  surpasses  all  the  cities  of  the  world — a 
firemen's  torchlight  procession — a  display  such  as  was 
afterward  given  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  but  which  we 
shall  probably  witness  no  more,  since  the  Volunteer 
Fire  Department  is  disbanded. 

But  one  day  did  not  exhaust  the  public  enthusiasm. 
The  next  evening,  a  grand  banquet  was  given  by  the 
city  authorities,  at  which  were  present  a  great  number 
of  distinguished  guests.  Lord  Napier  spoke,  in  lan- 
guage as  happy  as  it  was  eloquent,  of  the  new  tie  that 
was  formed  between  kindred  dwelling  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  sea,  and  awarded  the  highest  praise  to  the 
one  whom  he  recognized  as  the  author  of  this  great 
achievement.  Mr.  Field  replied,  modestly  disclaim- 
ing the  "  too  much  honor "  that  was  heaped  upon 
him,  saying  that  it  did  not  belong  to  him  alone,  and 
seemed  most  anxious  to  do  full  justice  to  all,  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic,  who  had  shared  in  the  great 
work. 

Of  course,  we  have  no  wish  to  recall  these  faded  fes- 
tivities, or  to  rehearse  all  the  sentiments  and  speeches 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        215 

of  that  night  of  rejoicing.  It  is  bayond  the  power  of 
any  artist  to  reproduce  such  a  carnival,  for  he  cannot 
put  on  canvas  the  spirit  of  the  scene.  Even  in  try- 
ing to  recall  it  now,  we  feel 

Like  one  who  treads  alone 
Some  banquet-hall  deserted. 

Since  then,  years  have  passed,  and  the  shouts  and 
cheers  that  rang  in  that  hall  have  died  away  to  an 
echo.  Speakers  and  actors,  many  of  them,  have 
passed  from  the  earth.  Happy  is  it  if  we  may  say, 
that  the  work  which  they  celebrated,  remains. 

While  these  demonstrations  continued,  every  oppos- 
ing voice  was  hushed  in  the  chorus  of  national  rejoic- 
ing; yet  some  there  were,  no  doubt,  who  looked  on 
with  silent  envy  or  whispered  detraction.  But  who 
could  grudge  these  honors  to  the  hero  of  the  hour — 
honors  so  hardly  won,  and  which,  as  it  proved,  were 
soon  to  give  place  to  harsh  censures  and  unjust  impu- 
tations ? 

Alas  for  all  human  glory!  Its  paths  lead  but  to 
the  grave.  Death  is  the  end  of  human  ambition. 
That  very  day  that  a  whole  city  rose  up  to  do 
honor  to  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  and  its  author,  it 
gave  its  last  throb,  and  that  first  cable  was  thence- 
forth to  sleep  for  ever  silent  in  its  ocean  grave. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SUDDEN  STOPPAGE  OP  THE  CABLE.  KEACTION  OF  PUBLIC  FEELING. 
GRATE  SUSPICIONS  OF  BAD  FAITH.  DID  THE  CABLE  EVER  WORK  ? 
DECISIVE  PROOF. 

THE  ATLANTIC  CABLE  WAS  DEAD  !  That  word  fell 
heavy  as  a  stone  on  the  hearts  of  those  who  had  staked 
so  much  upon  it.  What  a  bitter  disappointment  to 
their  hopes  !  In  all  the  experience  of  life  there  are  no 
sadder  moments  than  those  in  which,  after  years  of 
anxious  toil,  striving  for  a  great  object,  and  after  one 
supreme  moment  of  complete  success,  the  fruit  of  all 
these  labors  becomes  a  total  wreck.  Yain  is  all  hu- 
man toil  and  endeavor.  The  years  thus  spent  are  fled 
away ;  the  labor  that  was  to  have  borne  such  rich 
fruits  of  glory,  is  lost ;  and  the  prolonged  tension  of 
the  mind  by  the  excitement  of  hope  and  ambition,  and 
the  momentary  dream  of  success,  reacts  to  plunge  it 
into  a  deeper  depression.  So  was  it  here.  Years  of 
labor  and  millions  of  capital  were  swept  away  in  an 
hour  into  the  bosom  of  the  pitiless  sea. 

Of  course  the  reaction  of  the  public  mind  was  very 
great.  As  its  elation  had  been  so  extravagant  before, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH.        247 

it  was  now  silent  and  almost  sullen.  People  were 
asbamed  of  their  late  enthusiasm,  and  disposed  to  re- 
venge themselves  on  those  who  had  been  the  objects 
of  their  idolatry.  It  is  instructive  to  read  the  papers 
of  the  day.  As  soon  as  it  was  evident  that  the  Atlan- 
tic cable  was  a  dead  lion,  many  hastened  to  give  it  a 
parting  kick.  There  was  no  longer  any  dispute  as  to 
who  was  the  author  of  the  great  achievement.  Eival 
claimants  quietly  withdrew  from  the  field,  content  to 
leave  him  "  alone  in  his  glory." 

Many  explanations  were  offered  of  this  sudden  sus- 
pension of  life.  One  writer  argued  that  the  Telegra- 
phic Plateau  was  only  a  myth  ;  that  the  bottom  of  the 
ocean  was  jagged  and  precipitous ;  and  that  the  cable 
passed  over  lofty  mountain  chains,  and  had  hung  sus- 
pended from  the  peaks  of  submarine  Alps,  till  it  broke 
and  fell  into  the  tremendous  depths  below. 

But  others  found  a  readier  explanation.  With  the 
natural  tendency  of  a  popular  excitement  to  rush  from 
one  extreme  to  the  other,  many  now  believed  that 
the  whole  thing  was  an  imposition  on  public  credu- 
lity, a  sort  of  " Moon  hoax"  or  a  gigantic  speculation. 
An  elaborate  article  appeared  in  a  Boston  paper, 
headed  with  the  alarming  question,  "  Was  the  Atlan- 
tic cable  a  humbug  ? "  wherein  the  writer  argued 
through  several  columns  that  it  was  a  huge  deception. 
A  writer  in  an  English  paper  also  made  merry  of  the 


243       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

celebration  in  Dublin,  where  a  banquet  was  given  to 
Sir  Charles  Bright,  in  an  article  bearing  the  ominous 
title:  "  Yery  like  a  whale  I"  This  writer  proved  not 
only  that  the  Atlantic  cable  was  never  laid,  but  that 
such  a  thing  was  mathematically  impossible.  But  since 
he  turned  out  to  be  a  crazy  fellow,  whom  the  police 
had  to  take  into  custody,  his  "  demonstrations"  did 
not  make  much  impression  on  the  public.  The  diffi- 
culty of  finding  a  motive  for  the  perpetration  of  such  a 
stupendous  fraud,  did  not  at  all  embarrass  these  inge- 
nious writers.  Was  it  not  enough  to  make  the  world 
stare  ?  to  furnish  something  to  the  gaping  crowd,  even 
though  it  were  but  a  nine  days'  wonder  ?  Those  who 
thus  reasoned  seemed  not  to  reflect  that  such  decep- 
tions are  always  sure  to  be  found  out ;  that  one  who 
goes  up  like  a  rocket  may  come  down  like  a  stick ; 
and  that  if  by  false  means  he  has  made  himself  an  ob- 
ject of  popular  idolatry,  he  is  likely  to  become  the 
object  of  popular  indignation. 

But  others  there  were — sharp,  shrewd  men — who 
thought  they  could  see  through  a  mill-stone  farther 
than  their  neighbors,  who  shook  their  heads  with  a 
knowing  air,  and  said :  "It  was  all  a  stock  specula- 
tion." One  writer  stepped  before  the  public  with  this 
solemn  inquiry:  "  Now  that  the  great  cable  glorifica- 
tion is  over,  we  should  like  to  ask  one  question,  How 
many  shares  of  his  stock  did  Mr.  Field  sell  during  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        249 

month  of  August  ?"  This  he  evidently  thought  was  a 
question  which  could  not  be  answered,  except  by  ac- 
knowledging a  great  imposition  on  the  public.  If  this 
brilliant  inquirer  after  truth  really  desired  to  be  in- 
formed, we  could  have  referred  him  to  Messrs.  George 
Peabody  &  Co.,  of  London,  with  whom  was  deposited 
all  of  Mr.  Field's  stock  at  the  time,  and  who,  during 
that  memorable  month  of  August,  sold  just  one  share, 
and  that  at  a  price  below  the  par  value,  which  was 
paid  by  Mr.  Field  himself.  "Whether  this  was  an  ob- 
ject sufficiently  great  to  set  two  hemispheres  in  a  blaze, 
we  leave  him  to  judge. 

To  those  who  have  followed  this  narrative,  all  these 
conjectures  and  suspicions  will  appear  very  absurd. 
These  personal  reflections  we  would  treat  with  con- 
tempt, as  a  man  of  character  always  scorns  an  imputa- 
tion on  his  personal  honor.  But  while  we  despise 
these  anonymous  scribblers,  as  they  deserve,  yet  we 
recognize  the  fact  that  many  honest  people  not  dis- 
posed to  think  evil  were  sorely  perplexed.  That  the 
cable  should  continue  to  work  for  three  or  four  weeks, 
and  then  stop  the  very  day  of  the  celebration,  was  a  cir- 
cumstance certainly  very  singular,  if  not  suspicious ; 
and  it  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  it  should  excite 
a  painful  feeling  of  doubt.  This  distrust  is  quite  na- 
tural, and  ought  not  to  be  matter  either  of  offence  or 
surprise.  On  the  contrary,  those  who  are  fully  satisfied 


250        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

of  the  facts,  ought  rather  to  be  glad  of  the  opportunity 
which  -such  questions  afford,  to  present  in  full  the  am- 
plest vindication. 

To  answer  all  inquiries,  we  propose  to  give  a  very 
brief  history  of  the  working  of  the  Atlantic  cable.     It 
was  landed  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean  on  the  fifth  of 
August.     The  last  recorded  message  passed  over  it  on 
the  first  of  September,  one  day  short  of  four  weeks. 
Within  that  time  there  were  sent  exactly  four  hun- 
dred messages,  of  which  two  hundred  and  seventy-one 
were  from  Newfoundland  to  Ireland,  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  from  Ireland  to  Newfoundland.     Of 
these,  the  greater  part  were  merely  between  the  opera- 
tors themselves,  respecting  the  adjustment  of  instru- 
ments, and  working  the  telegraph,  which,  while  they 
furnished  decisive  evidence  to  them,  are  of  no  force  to 
the  public.     Of  course  an  operator,  working  with  a 
battery  on  the  shore  at  Yalentia,  or  at  Trinity  Bay, 
watching  his  instrument,  and  seeing  the  spark  of  light, 
needs  no  other  evidence  of  an  electric  current  that  has 
passed  through  the  cable.     He  sees  it,  and  knows,  as 
if  he  saw  the  flash  of  a  gun  on  the  coast  of  Ireland, 
that  it  is  a  light  which  has  come  from  beyond  the  sea. 
When  he  hears  the  familiar  click,  he  knows  that  it  is 
a  voice  whispering  to  him  out  of  the  bosom  of  the  wa- 
ters.    But  these  are  of  no  value  to  the  public  as  decid- 
ing the  fact  of  actual  communication.     What  they 


HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        251 

need  is  public  messages,  conveying  news  from  one 
hemisphere  to  the  other.  Of  these,  there  were  not  a 
great  number,  for  obvious  reasons.  The  cable,  dur- 
ing the  four  weeks  of  its  existence,  never  worked 
perfectly — that  is,  as  a  land  line  works,  transmitting 
messages  freely  and  rapidly,  and  with  perfect  accu- 
racy. It  worked,  but  slowly,  and  with  frequent  inter- 
ruptions, for  reasons  which  we  will  state,  and  which, 
we  think,  will  satisfy  any  one  that  the  wonder  is, 
not  that  it  did  so  little,  but  that  it  did  so  much. 

1.  To  begin  with,  the  cable  was  not  constructed  in 
the  most  perfect  manner.  Its  makers,  though  the  best 
then  in  the  world,  had  had  but  little  experience  in 
making  deep-sea  cables.  No  line  over  three  hundred 
miles  long  had  ever  been  laid.  2.  It  had  been  made 
more  than  a  year  before.  After  it  was  finished,  part  of 
it  had  been  coiled  out  of  doors,  where  it  was  exposed  to 
a  burning  sun,  by  which,  as  was  afterward  found,  the 
gutta-percha  had  been  melted  in  many  places  till  the 
insulation  was  nearly  destroyed.  3.  It  had  been  put 
on  board  the  ships  in  1857,  and  after  the  first  failure, 
had  been  taken  out  and  coiled  on  the  dock  at  Ply- 
mouth, and  then  re-shipped  in  1858.  Thus  it  had 
been  twisted  and  untwisted,  some  portions  of  it  as 
many  as  ten  times.  Then  the  half  on  board  the  Aga- 
memnon was  so  shaken  in  the  terrible  gale  of  June, 
that  it  was  seriously  injured,  and  some  portions  were 


252        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

cut  out  and  condemned.  Take  all  these  things  toge- 
ther, and  the  wonder  is,  not  that  the  cable  failed  after 
a  month,  but  that  it  ever  worked  at  all. 

Owing  to  this  impaired  state  of  the  cable,  we  admit 
fully  that  it  did  not  work  perfectly.  Signals  came  and 
went,  which  showed  that  the  electric  current  passed 
freely  from  shore  to  shore,  and  gave  promise  that 
with  more  delicate  instruments  it  could  be  taught  to 
speak  plainly.  But  for  the  present  it  spoke  slowly 
and  with  difficulty.  It  often  took  hours  to  get  through 
a  single  despatch,  if  of  any  length.  Witness  the  de- 
lay in  transmitting  the  Queen's  message.  These  fre- 
quent interruptions  were  ascribed  to  various  causes. 
Sometimes  it  was  earth-currents ;  at  others,  a  thunder- 
storm was  raging.  Thus,  on  the  morning  of  Thurs- 
day, the  twenty-sixth  of  August,  there  was  a  violent 
storm  in  Newfoundland,  heavy  rain,  accompanied  by 
thunder  and  lightning.  At  three  o'clock,  the  lightning 
was  so  intense  that  for  about  an  hour  and  a  half  the 
end  of  the  cable  had  to  be  put  to  the  earth  for  protec- 
tion. After  that  the  storm  cleared  away,  and  at  seven 
o'clock  the  weather  is  reported  as  being  very  fine.  But 
aside  from  these  local  and  temporary  causes,  the  real 
difficulty  was  in  the  cable  itself,  whose  insulation  had 
been  fatally  impaired,  and  which  was  now  wearing  out 
its  life  on  the  rocks  of  the  sea.  These  causes  made  its 
speech  difficult  and  broken.  Yet  sometimes  it  flashed 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        253 

up  with  sudden  power.  Thus,  in  one  case,  a  message 
was  sent  from  the  office  at  Trinity  Bay  to  Ireland  and 
an  answer  received  back  in  two  minutes.  Such  inci- 
dents excited  the  liveliest  hopes  that  all  difficulties 
would  be  speedily  overcome,  and  justified  the  mes- 
sages which  were  sent  to  the  New- York  papers  from 
day  to  day,  that  the  instruments  were  being  adjusted 
by  which  it  was  expected  that  the  line  would  soon  be 
put  in  perfect  working  order,  and  be  thrown  open  to 
the  public.  But  these  flashes  of  light  proved  to  be 
only  the  flickering  of  the  flame,  that  was  soon  to  be 
extinguished  in  the  eternal  darkness  of  the  waters. 

But  the  question  which  the  enemies  of  the  Atlantic 
Telegraph  have  chosen  to  raise  is,  not  whether  the 
cable  worked  fast  or  slow,  but  whether  it  ever  worked  at 
all.  Happily,  this  is  a  question  which  can  easily  be 
settled,  since  it  is  one  simply  of  facts  and  dates,  which 
can  be  ascertained  by  referring  to  the  files  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  American  papers.  Of  course  what  we  ask  in 
this  case  is  messages  containing  news.  Mere  congratula- 
tions between  the  Queen  and  the  President,  or  the 
Mayor  of  New- York  and  the  Mayor  of  London,  prove 
nothing,  for  these  might  be  prepared  beforehand,  if 
we  suppose  a  design  to  impose  on  the  credulity  of  the 
public.  But  the  decisive  test  is  this :  "Was  there  at 
any  time  within  that  month  published  in  the  English 
or  American  journals  NEWS  which  could  not  be  mat- 


254:       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ter  of  guess  or  conjecture,  and  within  a  time  too  short 
for  its  possible  transmission  in  any  other  way  ?  If 
this  can  be  proved  beyond  all  doubt,  even  in  a  few 
instances,  the  question  is  decided,  for  the  argument  is 
just  as  strong  with  a  dozen  cases  as  with  a  thousand. 
We  give,  therefore,  a  few  dates,  the  accuracy  of  which 
can  be  tested  by  any  one  who  will  take  the  trouble  to 
examine  the  English  and  American  papers  : 

I.  On  Saturday,  the  fourteenth  of  August,  the  steam- 
ships Arabia  and  Europa,  the  former  bound  for  New- 
York  and  the  latter  for  Liverpool,  came  into  collision 
off  Cape  Eace.  The  accident  was  not  known  in  this 
city  until  Tuesday,  the  seventeenth,  since  it  could  not 
be  telegraphed  here  till  the  Arabia  reached  Halifax  or 
the  Europa  St.  John's,  into  which  port  she  put  for  re- 
pairs. As  soon  as  the  news  reached  New- York,  the 
Agent  of  the  Company,  Mr.  Nimmo,  (Mr.  Cunard  him- 
self being  then  in  England,)  at  once  prepared  a  des- 
patch to  be  sent  to  relieve  immediate  anxiety.  This 
was  not  forwarded  to  Newfoundland,  as  peremptory 
orders  had  been  given  not  to  transmit  any  private  bu- 
siness messages  to  go  through  the  cable  until  the  line 
was  fully  open  to  the  public.  But  the  next  day  Mr. 
Field  arrived  in  New- York,  and  Mr.  Nimmo  applied 
to  him.  Seeing  the  urgency  of  the  case,  he  ordered  it 
to  be  forwarded.  It  was  accordingly  sent,  and  arrived 
in  London  on  the  twentieth,  giving  the  first  news  that 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        255 

was  received  of  the  accident.  This  was  repeatedly 
stated  by  the  late  Sir  Samuel  Canard,  of  London,  and 
is  confirmed  by  Mr.  Edward  Cunard,  of  New- York. 
The  message  was  published  in  the  London  papers  of 
the  twenty-first,  and  is  as  follows : 

"  Arabia  in  collision  with  Europa,  Cape  Kace,  Satur- 
day. Arabia  on  her  way.  Head  slightly  injured.  Eu- 
ropa lost  bowsprit,  cutwater ;  stem  sprung.  Will  re- 
main in  St.  John's  ten  days  from  sixteenth.  Persia 
calls  at  St.  John's  for  mails  and  passengers.  No  loss 
of  life  or  limb." 

This  first  news  message  was  not  only  a  very  decisive 
one  as  to  the  fact  of  telegraphic  communication,  but 
one  which  showed  the  benefits  which  it  would  con- 
fer. Mr.  William  E.  Dodge,  a  well-known  merchant 
of  New- York,  says :  "  I  was  in  Liverpool  at  the  time, 
and  expecting  friends  by  the  Europa.  Any  delay  in  the 
arrival  of  the  ship  would  have  caused  great  anxiety. 
But  one  morning,  on  going  down  to  the  Exchange,  we 
saw  posted  up  this  despatch  received  the  night  before 
by  the  Atlantic  Telegraph.  All  then  said  if  the  cable 
never  did  any  thing  more,  it  had  fully  repaid  its  cost." 
Well  may  he  add  with  devout  feeling:  "It  seemed 
as  if  Divine  Providence  had  permitted  the  event,  to 
furnish  a  testimony  which  could  not  be  denied,  to  the 
reality  and  the  benefit  of  this  new  means  of  communi- 
cation between  the  two  continents," 


253        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

II.  Passing  overall  the  messages  exchanged  bet  ween 
the  operators  at  the  stations,  the  congratulations  of 
Queen  and  President,  and  of  the  Mayors  of  New-York 
and  London,  we  come  to  another  news  despatch ;  Au- 
gust twenty-fifth,  Newfoundland  reports  to  Yalentia : 

"  Persia  takes  Europa's  passengers  and  mails.  Great 
rejoicing  everywhere  at  success  of  cable.  Bonfires, 
fireworks,  feux  dejoie,  speeches,  balls,  etc.,  Mr.  Eddy, 
the  first  and  best  telegrapher  in  the  States,  died  to-day. 
Pray  give  some  news  for  New-York ;  they  are  mad 
for  news." 

In  the  above  despatch,  we  remark  especially  one 
item,  the  death  of  Mr.  Eddy,  an  announcement  which 
the  writer,  who  was  then  in  Europe,  read  first  in  the 
London  Times,  and  which  arrested  his  attention,  as  he 
had  some  acquaintance  with  that  gentleman.*  Those 

*  Mr.  James  Eddy  died  suddenly,  at  Burlington,  Vermont,  Monday, 
August  twenty-third,  1858,  at  ten  o'clock,  fifteen  minutes  A.M.  The 
•exact  day  and  hour  we  learn  from  his  widow,  who  is  now  living  in 
Brooklyn.  The  news  was  telegraphed  to  New- York,  and  from  there 
sent  to  Trinity  Bay,  from  which  it  was  forwarded  to  Valentia,  and 
appeared  in  the  London  Times  Wednesday  morning.  Thus  not  forty- 
eight  hours  had  elapsed  after  he  breathed  his  last,  before  it  was  pub- 
lished in  England.  If  any  one  wishes  to  see  the  despatch,  he  will  find 
a  file  of  the  London  Times  in  the  Astor  Library, 

p.  s._siight  discrepancies  are  sometimes  the  strongest  possible 
confirmation  of  truth,  as  they  show  that  there  was  no  thought  of 
imposition.  One  of  these  appears  here.  The  despatch  is  dated  August 
twenty-fifth,  and  says  Mr.  Eddy  died  to-day,  and  yet  it  is  published 


HISTORY   OF   THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.       257 

who  argue  so  strenuously  for  the  theory  of  collusion 
and  deception,  must  be  somewhat  embarrassed  to  ac- 
count for  this.  Do  they  suppose  that  this  death  was 
a  matter  of  concert  and  design  ?  that  Mr.  Eddy  died 
on  that  day,  so  that  a  message,  which  they  must  assume 
to  have  been  sent  two  weeks  beforehand,  could  be 
proved  correct  ?  This  is  an  absurdity  too  gross  even 
for  them,  yet  to  such  absurdities  are  they  reduced  by 
denial  that  authentic  messages  ever  passed  over  the 
Atlantic  cable. 

To  the  demand  for  news  in  the  above  despatch,  a 
reply  was  at  once  returned:  "Sent  to  London  for 
news."  And  later  the  same  day  came  the  following : 
"  North.- American  with  Canadian,  and  the  Asia  with 
direct  Boston  mails,  leave  Liverpool,  and  Fulton, 
Southampton,  Saturday  next.  To-day's  morning  pa- 
pers have  long,  interesting  reports  by  Bright.  Indian 
news.  Yirago  arrived  at  Liverpool  to-day ;  Bombay 
dates  nineteenth  July.  Mutiny  being  rapidly  quelled." 

A  despatch  of  the  same  date,  August  25th,  also 
announces  peace  with  China.  The  whole  was  re- 
ceived at  Trinity  Bay  about  nine  o'clock  P.M.,  and 

in  the  London  Times  of  the  same  date.  How  is  this  ?  It  was  sent 
between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  at  night  of  the  twenty-fourth,  when  the 
operator  would  say  this  day  of  a  piece  of  news  just  received,  but  in 
affixing  the  date,  he  was  governed  by  Greenwich  time,  which  made  it 
more  than  three  hours  later.  Accordingly  it  is  published  in  the  London 
Times,  dated  August  twenty-fifth,  fifty-three  minutes  p-.st  twelve  A.M. 


258        HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

would  have  been  sent  on  at  once  to  New-York,  but 
that  the  land  lines  in  Nova  Scotia  were  closed  at  that 
hour.  It  was  sent  the  next  morning,  and  appeared  in 
the  evening  papers  of  the  twenty-sixth. 

By  referring  again  to  the  London  Times,  the  reader 
will  see  that  the  news  from  China  was  published  in 
London  on  the  twenty -third  of  August.  It  is  there 
given  as  very  unexpected  news,  so  that  it  could  not  have 
been  a  shrewd  guess  on  the  part  of  any  body  either  in 
England  or  America.  It  took  the  public  by  surprise, 
both  for  the  news  itself  and  for  the  way  in  which  it 
came — which  was  not  by  India  and  the  Eed  Sea,  but 
by  St.  Petersburg,  where  it  arrived  on  the  twenty- 
first,  having  been  brought  overland  by  a  courier  to 
Prince  Gortchakoff.  From  there  it  was  telegraphed 
to  the  Government  at  Paris,  and  thence  to  London. 
The  Times  comments  on  this  roundabout  way  in  which 
intelligence  so  important  reached  England.  Yet  this 
news,  so  unlocked  for,  announced  in  London  only  on 
the  morning  of  the  twenty-third  of  August,  was  pub- 
lished in  New-York  on  the  twenty-sixth. 

III.  August  twenty-seventh,  comes  a  still  longer  des- 
patch, which  we  give  in  full :  "  George  Saward,  Secre- 
tary Atlantic  Telegraph  Company,  to  Associated  Press, 
New- York.  News  for  America  by  Atlantic  cable. 
Emperor  of  France  returned  to  Paris,  Saturday.  King 
of  Prussia  too  ill  to  visit  Queen  Victoria.  Her  Majes- 


HISTORY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       259 

ty  returns  to  England  thirtieth  of  August. — St.  Peters- 
burg,  twenty-first  of  August.  Settlement  of  Chinese 
question.  Chinese  empire  opened  to  trade  ;  Christian 
religion  allowed ;  foreign  diplomatic  agents  admitted ; 
indemnity  to  England  and  France. — Alexandria,  Au- 
gust ninth.  The  Madras  arrived  at  Suez  seventh  inst. 
Dates  Bombay  to  the  nineteenth ;  Aden,  thirty-first. 
Gwalior  insurgent  army  broken  up.  All  India  be- 
coming tranquil." 

This  despatch  embodies  about  a  dozen  distinct  items 
of  news,  not  one  of  which  could  be  known  without  a 
telegraphic  communication.  The  whole  was  received 
in  New- York,  and  published  in  the  evening  papers 
the  same  day. 

IV.  Not  to  be  outdone  in  giving  news,  the  next 
day,  Saturday,  August  twenty-eighth,  Newfoundland 
thus  replies  to  Yalentia  : 

"To  THE  DIRECTORS  :  Take  news  first,  Saward.  Sir 
"William  Williams,  of  Kars,  arrived  Halifax  Tuesday. 
Enthusiastically  received.  Immense  procession — wel- 
come address — feeling  reply.  Held  levee — large  num- 
ber presented.  Niagara  sailed  for  Liverpool  at  one 
this  morning.  The  Gorgon  arrived  at  Halifax  last 
night.  Yellow  fever  in  New-Orleans,  sixty  to  seventy 
deaths  per  day.  Also  declared  epidemic,  Charleston. 
Great  preparations  in  New- York  and  other  places  for 
celebration,  to  be  held  the  first  and  second  of 


260       HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

September.  New  -Yorkers  will  make  it  the  greatest 
gala-day  ever  known  in  this  country.  Hermann  sailed 
for  Fraser's  Kiver;  six  hundred  passengers.  Prince 
Albert  sailed  yesterday  for  Galway.  Arabia  and 
Ariel  arrived  New- York  ;  Anglo  Saxon,  Quebec ; 
Canada,  Boston.  Europa  left  St.  John's  this  morning. 
Splendid  aurora  Bay  of  Bulls  to-night,  extending  over 
eighty- five  degrees  of  the  horizon." 

Let  any  one  examine  carefully  this  despatch,  con- 
sidering the  minuteness  of  the  details — which  could 
not  be  known  or  conjectured — such  as  the  appearance 
of  yellow  fever  at  New-Orleans,  with  the  number  of 
deaths  a  day  ;  the  sailing  or  arrival  of  seven  steamers  ; 
the  number  of  passengers  for  Fraser's  Eiver,  etc. — and 
then  examine  the  London  Times,  and  see  that  all  these 
items  appeared  in  it  Monday  morning,  August  thir- 
tieth, and  if  he  does  not  admit  that  collusion  or  decep- 
tion is  out  of  the  question,  no  amount  of  evidence 
could  convince  him. 

Y.  We  will  give  but  one  proof  more.  On  the  last 
day  of  August,  the  day  before  the  cable  ceased  to 
work,  Yalentia  sent  to  Newfoundland  two  messages 
for  the  British  Government,  both  signed  by  "  the 
Military  Secretary  to  the  Commander-in-Chief,  Horse 
Guards,  London,"  and  addressed — the  first  to  General 
Trollope,  Halifax,  which  said,  "  The  sixty-second  regi- 
ment is  not  to  return  to  England  ;"  and  the  other  to 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       261 

the  General  Officer  commanding  at  Montreal,  saying: 
"  The  Thirty -ninth  regiment  is  not  to  return  to  Eng- 
land." This  was  the  time  of  the  Sepoy  rebellion,  and 
the  Government  had  sent  out  orders  by  mail  for  these 
two  regiments  to  embark  immediately  for  home,  to  be 
sent  to  India.  Bat  the  mutiny  being  nearly  suppress- 
ed, this  was  found  not  to  be  necessary,  and  the  prompt 
countermanding  of  the  order  by  telegraph,  saved  the 
British  Government,  in  the  cost  of  transportation  of 
troops,  not  less  than  fifty  thousand  pounds.  The  des- 
patch to  Halifax  was  received  the  same  day  that  it  was 
sent  from  London.  The  sending  of  this  despatch,  and 
its  almost  immediate  reception,  is  attested  by  an  offi- 
cial letter  from  the  War  Office  in  London. 

But  why  multiply  arguments?  The  facts  here 
given  are  accessible  to  all  who  have  the  candor  and 
the  patience  to  examine.  Let  any  man  take  the  files 
of  English  and  American  papers  issued  during  that 
month  of  August,  and  compare  them  day  Toy  day,  and 
if  he  is  not  thoroughly  satisfied  that  a  great  number 
of  authentic  messages  passed  over  the  Atlantic  cable, 
he  is  beyond  the  reach  of  human  testimony.  His  case 
is  one  of  "  invincible  ignorance."  Neither  would  he 
be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the  dead. 


CHAPTER  Xin. 

ATTEMPTS  TO  REVIVE  THE  COMPANY — PROFOUND  DISCOURAGEMENT — 11 
APPLIES  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT  FOR  AlD,  WHICH  DECLINES  TO  GIVE  AN 

UNCONDITIONAL    GUARANTEE — FAILURE  OF    THE   RED  SEA  TELEGRAPH 

SCIENTIFIC  EXPERIMENTS — CABLES  LAID  IN  THE  MEDITERRANEAN  AND 
THE  PERSIAN  GULF — EFFORTS  TO  RAISE  CAPITAL  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 
AND  IN  ENGLAND — BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  NEXT  FIVE  YEARS. 

IT  takes  a  long  time  to  recover  from  a  great  dis- 
aster. When  at  last  the  friends  of  the  Atlantic  Tele- 
graph were  obliged  to  confess  that  the  cable  had  ceased 
to  work  ;  when  all  the  efforts  of  the  electricians  failed 
to  draw  more  than  a  few  faint  whispers,  a  dying  gasp, 
from  the  depths  of  the  sea,  there  ensued  in  the  public 
mind  a  feeling  of  profound  discouragement.  For  a 
time  this  paralyzed  all  effort  to  revive  the  Company 
and  to  renew  the  enterprise.  And  yet  the  feeling, 
though  natural,  was  extreme.  If  they  had  not  done 
all  they  attempted,  they  had  accomplished  much. 
They  had  at  least  demonstrated  the  possibility  of 
laying  a  cable  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  of  send- 
ing messages  through  it.  This  alone  was  no  small 
triumph.  So  men  reasoned  when  sober  reflection 
returned,  and  at  length  the  tide  of  public  confidence, 


HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        263 

which  had  ebbed  so  strongly,  began  to  reflow,  and 
once  more  to  creep  up  the  shores  of  England. 

But  when  a  great  enterprise  has  been  overthrown, 
and  lies  prostrate  on  the  earth,  the  first  impulse  of  its 
friends  is  to  call  on  Caesar  for  help.  So  the  first  ap- 
peal of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company  was  to  the 
British  Government.  It  was  claimed,  and  with  reason, 
that  the  work  was  too  great  to  be  undertaken  by  pri- 
vate capital  alone.  It  was  a  matter,  not  of  private 
speculation,  but  of  public  and  national  concern.  It 
was,  therefore,  an  object  which  might  justly  be  under- 
taken by  a  powerful  government,  in  the  interest  of 
science  and  of  civilization. 

To  raise  capital  for  a  new  cable,  it  was  necessary  to 
have  some  better  security  than  the  hazards  of  a  vast 
and  doubtful  undertaking.  Hence  the  Company  asked 
the  Government  to  guarantee  the  interest  on  a  certain 
amount  of  stock,  even  if  the  second  attempt  should  not 
prove  a  complete  success.  "With  such  a  guarantee,  the 
capital  could  be  raised  in  London  in  a  day. 

In  this  application  they  might  have  been  successful, 
but  for  an  untoward  event,  which  dampened  the  con- 
fidence of  the  public  in  all  submarine  enterprises — the 
failure  of  the  Ked  Sea  Telegraph.  The  British  Gov- 
ernment, anxious  to  forward  communication  with  In- 
dia, had  given  that  Company  an  unconditional  guar- 
antee, on  the  strength  of  which  the  capital  was  raised, 


2  *  !:      HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

and  the  cable  manufactured  and  laid.  But  in  a  very 
short  time  it  ceased  to  work.  This  proved  a  serious 
loss  to  the  treasury  of  Great  Britain.  To  the  public, 
which  did  not  understand  the  cause  of  the  failure  to 
be  the  imperfect  construction  of  the  cable,  the  effect 
was  to  impair  confidence  in  all  long  submarine  tele- 
graphs. Of  course,  after  such  an  experience,  the 
Government  was  not  disposed  to  bind  itself  by  such 
pledges  again.  It  was,  however,  ready  to  aid  the 
enterprise  by  any  safe  means.  It  therefore  increased 
its  subsidy  from  fourteen  thousand  pounds  to  twenty 
thousand  pounds ;  and  guaranteed  eight  per  cent  on 
six  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  new  capital  for  twen- 
ty-five years,  with  only  one  condition — that  the  cable 
should  work.  This  was  a  liberal  grant,  and  under  the 
circumstances,  was  all  that  could  be  expected. 

Still  further  to  encourage  the  undertaking,  it  order- 
ed new  soundings  to  be  taken  off  the  coast  of  Ireland. 
These  were  made  by  Captain  Hoskins,  E.N".,  and  dis- 
pelled the  fears  which  had  been  entertained  of  a  sub- 
marine mountain,  which  would  prove  an  impassable 
barrier  in  the  path  of  an  ocean  telegraph. 

But  the  greatest  service  which  the  British  Govern- 
ment rendered,  was  in  the  long  course  of  experiment 
which  it  now  ordered,  to  determine  all  the  difficult 
problems  of  submarine  telegraphy.  In  1859,  the  year 
after  the  failure  of  the  first  Atlantic  cable,  the  Board 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.     285 

of  Trade  appointed  a  committee  of  the  most  eminent 
scientific  and  engineering  authorities  in  Great  Britain 
to  investigate  the  whole  subject.  This  was  composed 
of  Captain  Douglas  Galton,  of  the  Koyal  Engineers, 
now  of  the  "War  Office,  London,  who  specially  repre- 
sented the  Government ;  Professor  Wheatstone.  the 
celebrated  electrician  ;  William  Fairbairn,  late  Presi- 
dent of  the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement 
of  Science ;  George  Parker  Bidder,  whose  name  ranks 
with  those  of  Stephenson  and  Brunei ;  C.  F.  Yar- 
ley,  who,  in  the  practical  working  of  telegraphs, 
has  no  superior  in  England ;  Latimer  Clark  and  Ed- 
win Clark,  both  engineers,  who  had  had  great  expe- 
rience in  the  business  of  telegraphing  ;  and  George 
Saward,  the  Secretary  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Com- 
pany. 

This  Committee  sat  for  nearly  two  years,  at  the  end 
of  which,  it  made  a  report  to  the  Government,  which 
fills  a  very  large  volume,  in  which  are  detailed  an  im- 
mense number  of  experiments,  touching  the  form  and 
size  of  cables,  their  relative  strength  and  flexibility, 
the  power  of  telegraphing  at  long  distances,  the  speed 
at  which  messages  could  be  sent ;  and  in  fine,  every 
possible  question,  either  as  to  the  electrical  or  engi- 
neering difficulties  to  be  overcome.  The  result  of 
these  manifold  and  laborious  experiments  is  summed 
up  in  the  following  certificate,  signed  by  all  who  had 
taken  part  in  this  memorable  investigation : 


266        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

"LONDON,  13th  July,  1863. 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  members  of  the  Committee, 
who  were  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Trade,  in  1859, 
to  investigate  the  question  of  submarine  telegraphy, 
and  whose  investigation  continued  from  that  time  to 
April,  1861,  do  hereby  state,  as  the  result  of  our  de- 
liberations, that  a  well-insulated  cable,  properly  pro- 
tected, of  suitable  specific  gravity,  made  with  care» 
and  tested  under  water  throughout  its  progress  with 
the  best  known  apparatus,  and  paid  into  the  ocean 
with  the  most  improved  machinery,  possesses  every 
prospect  of  not  only  being  successfully  laid  in  the 
first  instance,  but  may  reasonably  be  relied  upon  to 
continue  for  many  years  in  an  efficient  state  for  the 
transmission  of  signals. 

DOUGLAS  GALTON,        CROMWELL  F.  VARLEY, 
C.  WHEATSTONE,  LATIMER  CLARK, 

WM.  FAIRBAIRN,          EDWIN  CLARK, 
GEO.  P.  BIDDER,  GEO.  SAWARD." 

Thus  the  years  which  followed  the  failure  of  1858 — 
though  they  saw  no  attempt  to  lay  another  ocean 
cable — were  not  years  of  idleness.  They  were  rather 
years  of  experiment  and  of  preparation,  clearing  the 
way  for  new  efforts  and  final  victory.  The  Atlantic 
Telegraph  itself  had  been  a  grand  experiment.  It  had 
taught  many  important  truths  which  could  be  learned 
in  no  other  way.  Not  only  had  it  demonstrated  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       267 

possibility  of  telegraphing  from  continent  to  conti- 
nent, but  it  had  been  useful  even  in  exposing  its  own 
defects,  as  it  taught  how  to  avoid  them  in  the  future. 
For  example,  in  working  the  first  cable,  the  electri- 
cians had  thought  it  necessary  to  use  an  enormous 
battery.  They  did  not  suppose  they  could  reach 
across  the  whole  breadth  of  the  Atlantic,  and  touch 
the  Western  hemisphere,  unless  they  sent  an  electric 
current  that  was  almost  like  a  stroke  of  lightning; 
and  that,  in  fact,  endangered  the  safety  of  the  con- 
ducting wire.  But  they  soon  found  that  this  was 
unnecessary.  God  was  not  in  the  whirlwind,  but  in 
the  still,  small  voice,  A  soft  touch  could  send  a 
thrill  along  that  iron  nerve.  It  seemed  as  if  the  deep 
were  a  vast  whispering  gallery,  and  that  a  gentle  voice 
murmured  in  the  ocean  caves,  like  a  whisper  in  a  sea- 
shell,  might  be  caught,  so  wonderful  are  the  harmo- 
nies of  nature,  by  listening  ears  on  remote  continents. 
Thus  was  given  a  new  meaning  to  the  poet's 

"  Airy  tongues,  that  syllable  men's  names 
On  sands,  and  shores,  and  desert  wildernesses." 

These  were  also  years  of  great  progress,  not  only  in 
the  science  of  submarine  telegraphy,  but  in  the  con- 
struction of  deep-sea  cables.  In  spite  of  the  failure  of 
that  in  the  Red  Sea,  one  was  laid  down  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, fifteen  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  long, 
from  Malta  to  Alexandria,  and  another  in  the  Persian 


268       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

Gulf,  fourteen  hundred  miles  long,  by  which  telegra 
phic  communication  was  finally  opened  from  England 
to  India.  Both  these  lines  still  continue  in  perfect 
working  order.  Others  were  laid  in  different  seas  and 
oceans  in  distant  parts  of  the  world.  These  great  tri- 
umphs, following  the  scientific  experiments  which  had 
been  made,  revived  public  confidence,  and  prepared 
the  way  for  a  fresh  attempt  to  pass  the  Atlantic. 

Yet  not  much  was  done  to  renew  the  enterprise 
until  1862.  Mr.  Field  had  been  indefatigable  in  his 
efforts  to  reanimate  the  Company.  He  was  continu- 
ally going  back  and  forth  to  the  British  Provinces  arid 
to  England,  urging  it  wherever  his  voice  could  be 
heard.  Yet  times  were  adverse.  The  United  States 
had  been  suddenly  involved  in  a  tremendous  war, 
which  called  into  the  field  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
men,  and  entailed  a  burden  of  many  hundreds  of  mil- 
lions. While  engaged  in  this  life-and-death  struggle, 
and  rolling  up  such  a  mountain  of  debt,  our  people 
had  little  thought  to  bestow  on  other  great  enterprises 
by  land  or  sea. 

And  yet  one  incident  of  the  war  forcibly  recalled 
public  attention  to  the  necessity  of  some  speedier  com- 
munication with  Europe  than  by  steam.  The  unhappy 
Trent  affair  aroused  an  angry  feeling  in  Great  Britain 
which  nearly  resulted  in  hostilities,  all  of  which  might 
have  been  prevented  by  a  single  word  of  explanation. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.       2C9 

As  the  London  Times  said  truly :  "  We  nearly  went 
to  war  with  America  because  we  had  not  a  telegraph 
across  the  Atlantic."  After  such  a  warning,  it  was 
natural  that  both  countries  should  begin  to  think  seri- 
ously of  the  means  of  preventing  future  misunder- 
standing. Mr.  Field  went  to  Washington,  and  found 
great  readiness  on  the  part  of  the  President  and  his 
Cabinet  to  encourage  the  enterprise.  Mr.  Seward 
wrote  to  our  Minister  in  London  that  the  American 
Government  would  be  happy  to  join  with  that  of  Great 
Britain  in  promoting  this  international  work.  With 
this  encouragement,  Mr.  Field  went  to  England  to 
urge  the  Company  to  renew  the  undertaking.  While 
in  London,  he  endeavored  to  obtain  from  some  respon- 
sible parties  an  offer  to  construct  and  lay  down  a  cable. 
Messrs.  Glass,  Elliot  &  Co.  replied,  declaring  their  will- 
ingness to  undertake  the  work,  without  at  first  nam- 
ing the  precise  terms.  They  wrote,  under  date  of  Feb- 
ruary seventeenth : 

"SiR:  In  reply  to  your  inquiries,  we  beg  to  state 
that  we  should  not  be  willing  to  manufacture  and  lay 
a  Submarine  Telegraph  Cable  across  the  Atlantic,  from 
Ireland  to  Newfoundland,  assuming  the  entire  risk,  as 
we  consider  that  would  be  too  great  a  responsibility 
for  any  single  firm  to  undertake  ;  but  we  are  so  confi- 
dent that  these  points  can  be  connected  by  a  good  and 
durable  cable,  that  we  are  willing  to  contract  to  do  the 


270       HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

work,  and  stake  a  large  sum  upon  its  successful  laying 
and  working. 

"  We  shall  be  prepared  in  a  few  days,  as  soon  as  we 
can  get  the  necessary  information  in  regard  to  what 
price  we  can  charter  suitable  ships  for  the  service,  to 
make  you  a  definite  offer." 

Although  it  is  anticipating  a  few  months  in  time,  we 
may  give  here  the  "  definite  offer,"  which  was  obtained 
by  Mr.  Field,  on  his  return  to  England  in  the  autumn. 
It  was  as  follows  : 

"  LONDON,  October  20,  1862. 
"  CYRUS  W.  FIELD,  ESQ.,  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH  COMPANY  : 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  In  reply  to  your  inquiries,  we  beg  to 
state,  that  we  are  perfectly  confident  that  a  good  and 
durable  Submarine  Cable  can  be  laid  from  Ireland  to 
Newfoundland,  and  are  willing  to  undertake  the  con- 
tract upon  the  following  conditions  : 

"  First.  That  we  shall  be  paid  each  week  our  actual 
disbursements  for  labor  and  material. 

"  Second.  That  when  the  cable  is  laid  and  in  work- 
ing order,  we  shall  receive  for  our  time,  services,  and 
profit  twenty  per  cent  on  the  actual  cost  of  the  line,  in 
shares  of  the  Company,  deliverable  to  us,  in  twelve 
equal  monthly  instalments,  at  the  end  of  each  succes- 
sive month  whereat  the  cable  shall  be  found  in  work- 
ing order. 

"  We  are  so  confident  that  this  enterprise  can  be 
successfully  carried  out,  that  we  will  make  a  cash  sub- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       271 

scription  for  a  sum  of  twenty-five  thousand  pounds 
sterling  in  the  ordinary  capital  of  the  Company,  and 
pay  the  calls  on  the  same  when  made  by  the  Com- 
pany. 

"Annexed  we  beg  to  hand  you,  for  your  guidance, 
a  list  of  all  the  submarine  telegraph  cables  manufac- 
tured and  laid  by  our  firm  since  we  commenced  this 
branch  of  our  business,  the  whole  mileage  of  which, 
with  the  exception  of  the  short  one  between  Liverpool 
and  Holy  head,  which  has  been  taken  up,  is  at  this 
time  in  perfect  and  successful  working  order.  The 
cable  that  we  had  the  honor  to  contract  for  and  lay 
down  for  the  French  Government,  connecting  France 
with  Algeria,  is  submerged  in  water  of  nearly  equal 
depths  to  any  we  should  have  to  encounter  between 
Ireland  and  Newfoundland. 

"  You  will  permit  us  to  suggest  that  the  shore  ends 
of  the  Atlantic  Cable  should  be  composed  of  very  heavy 
wires,  as  from  our  experience  the  only  accidents  that 
have  arisen  to  any  of  the  cables  that  we  have  laid  have 
been  caused  by  ships'  anchors,  and  none  of  those  laid 
out  of  anchorage  ground  have  ever  cost  one  shilling 
for  repairs. 

"  The  cable  that  we  would  suggest  for  the  Atlantic 
will  be  an  improvement  on  all  those  yet  manfactured, 
and  we  firmly  believe  will  be  imperishable  when  once 
laid.  "We  remain,  sir,  yours  faithfully, 

"GLASS,  ELLIOT  &  Co." 


272        HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH. 

The  summer  of  this  year  Mr.  Field  spent  in  Amer- 
ica, where  he  applied  himself  vigorously  to  raise  capi- 
tal for  the  new  enterprise.  To  this  end  he  visited  dif- 
erent  cities  —  Boston,  Providence,  Philadelphia,  Al- 
bany, and  Buffalo — to  address  meetings  of  merchants 
and  others.  All  listened  with  interest,  and  applauded 
his  courage  and  perseverance,  and  hoped  he  would 
succeed,  but  subscribed  little.  In  New- York  he  suc- 
ceeded better,  but  only  by  indefatigable  exertions. 
He  addressed  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Board 
of  Brokers,  and  the  Corn  Exchange,  and  then  he  went 
almost  literally  from  door  to  door,  calling  on  mer- 
chants and  bankers  to  enlist  their  aid.  The  result 
was,  subscriptions  amounting  to  about  seventy  thousand 
pounds,  the  whole  of  which  was  due  to  persevering 
personal  solicitation.  Even  of  those  who  subscribed, 
a  large  part  did  so  more  from  sympathy  and  admira- 
tion of  his  indomitable  spirit  than  from  confidence  in 
the  success  of  the  enterprise. 

In  England,  however,  the  subject  was  better  under- 
stood. For  obvious  reasons,  the  science  of  submarine 
telegraphy  has  made  greater  advances  in  that  country 
than  in  ours.  England  is  itself  an  island,  and  obliged 
to  hold  all  its  telegraphic  communication  with  the  con- 
tinent by  cables  under  the  sea.  Then  it  has  largo 
colonial  possessions  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  with 
which  it  is  important  to  have  the  means  of  speedy 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       273 

communication.  We  can  understand  the  pride  of  em- 
pire in  a  dominion  on  which  the  sun  never  sets — "a 
power,"  to  quote  the  memorable  description  of  our 
own  Webster,  "  which  has  dotted  the  face  of  the  whole 
globe  with  its  possessions  and  military  posts,  whose 
morning  drumbeat,  following  the  sun  and  keeping  com- 
pany with  the  hours,  encircles  the  whole  earth  with 
one  continuous  and  unbroken  strain  of  the  martial  airs 
of  England."  "Was  it  strange  that  this  mother  of  na- 
tions should  reach  out  her  long  arms  to  embrace  her 
distant  children  ? 

The  pride  of  empire  and  necessity  of  her  position 
had  stimulated  the  spirit  of  enterprise  in  this  direction. 
Hence  it  was  that  the  subject  of  submarine  telegraphs 
was  so  much  better  understood  in  England  than  in 
this  country,  not  only  by  scientific  men,  but  by  capi- 
talists. The  appeal  could  be  made  to  them  with  more 
assurance  of  intelligent  sympathy.  And  yet  so  vast 
was  the  undertaking,  that  it  required  ceaseless  effort 
to  roll  the  stone  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  the 
result  was  not  completely  achieved  till  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1861 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  ENTERPRISE  RENEWED.  PROPOSALS  FOR  ANOTHER  CABLE.  GREAT 
IMPROVEMENT  ON  THE  OLD.  GENEROUS  OFFER  OF  THE  MANUFACTUR- 
ERS TO  TAKE  HALF  THE  CAPITAL.  THE  WORK  BEGUN.  THE  GREAT 

EASTERN  AND  CAPTAIN  ANDERSON.     THE  WHOLE  CABLE  SHIPPED  ON 
BOARD  IN  THE  SPRING  OF  1865.     EXPEDITION  IN  JULY. 

IT  is  a  long  night  which  has  no  morning.  At  last 
the  day  is  breaking.  While  weary  eyes  are  watching 
the  East,  "  daylight  comes  over  the  sea."  Five  years 
have  passed  away,  and  though  the  time  seemed  long 
as  an  Arctic  winter,  that  only  made  more  bright  the 
rising  of  the  sun.  Those  years  of  patient  experiment, 
when  scientific  men  were  applying  tests  without  num- 
ber, 'and  submarine  lines  were  feeling  their  way  along 
the  deep-sea  floor  in  all  the  waters  of  the  world,  at  last 
brought  forth  their  fruit  in  that  renewed  confidence 
which  is  the  forerunner  of  victory. 

So  strong  was  this  feeling,  that  as  early  as  August, 
1863,  although  the  capital  was  not  raised,  the  Board 
advertised  for  proposals  for  a  cable  suitable  to  be  laid 
across  the  Atlantic  Ocean ;  and  in  order  to  leave  in- 
vention entirely  unfettered,  they  abstained  from  any 


HISTOKY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        275 

dictation  as  to  the  form  or  materials  to  be  adopted, 
merely  stipulating  for  a  working  speed  of  eight  words 
a  minute. 

In  reply  they  received,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks,  seventeen  different  proposals  from  as  many 
companies,  many  of  them  firms  of  large  wealth  and 
experience.  These  different  tenders,  with  the  numer- 
ous specimens  of  cable  and  materials,  were  at  once  sub- 
mitted to  the  eminent  Consulting  Committee  which 
had  already  rendered  such  service  by  its  advice,  em- 
bracing as  it  did  the  first  engineering  skill  and  sci- 
entific knowledge  of  the  kingdom.  This  Committee 
examined  all  the  proposals,  and  then,  taking  up  one 
by  one  the  different  samples  of  cable,  caused  them 
in  turn  to  be  subjected  to  the  severest  tests.  This 
took  a  long  time,  as  it  required  a  great  number  of 
experiments ;  but  the  result  was  highly  satisfactory. 
The  Committee  were  all  of  one  mind,  and  recom- 
mended unanimously  that  the  Board  should  accept 
the  tender  of  Messrs.  Grlass,  Elliot  &  Co.,  and  the 
general  principle  of  their  proposed  cable ;  but  ad- 
vised that  before  settling  the  final  specification,  every 
portion  of  the  material  to  be  employed  should  be  test- 
ed with  the  greatest  care,  both  separately  and  in  com- 
bination, so  as  to  ascertain  what  further  improvements 
could  be  made.  To  this  the  manufacturers  readily 
consented,  feeling  a  noble  ambition  to  justify  the  con- 


276       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

fidence  of  the  Committee  and  the  public.  They  pro- 
vided abundant  materials  for  fresh  experiments.  New 
cables  were  made  and  tested  in  different  lengths  ;  and 
experiments  were  also  tried  upon  different  qualities  of 
wire  and  hemp,  that  were  to  compose  its  external  pro- 
tection. The  result  of  all  these  investigations  was  the 
selection  of  a  model  which  seemed  to  combine  every 
excellence,  and  to  approach  absolute  perfection. 

Such  was  the  cable  which  this  eminent  firm  offered 
to  manufacture,  and  to  lay  across  the  Atlantic,  and  that 
on  terms  so  favorable,  that  it  seemed  as  if  it  could  not 
be  difficult  to  raise  the  capital  and  proceed  with  the 
work.  Indeed,  a  contract  was  partially  made  to  that 
effect.  So  confident  was  Mr.  Field,  who  was  then 
in  London,  that  an  expedition  would  sail  the  follow- 
ing summer,  that  he  insured  his  stock,  part  of  it 
only  against  ordinary  sea-risks,  but  part  also  to  be 
laid  and  to  work  !  But  hardly  had  he  left  England 
before  there  was  some  unforeseen  hitch  in  the  arrange- 
ments, the  money  was  not  forthcoming,  or  some  of 
the  conditions  were  not  complied  with,  and  he  had 
the  mortification  to  receive  letters,  saying  that  the 
whole  enterprise  was  postponed  for  another  year! 

This  was  indeed  discouraging.  Hope  deferred  mak- 
eth  the  heart  sick,  and  this  hope  had  been  deferred  for 
many  a  year.  Yet  this  sudden  dropping  of  the  scheme 
did  not  imply  a  loss  of  interest  or  of  faith  on  the  part 


HISTOKY   OF   THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.       277 

of  those  embarked  in  it.  They  believed  in  it  as  much 
as  ever.  But  the  general  public  did  not  respond  to 
the  call  for  more  capital.  Alas  that  the  noblest  enter- 
prises should  so  often  be  delayed  or  defeated  by  the 
want  of  money  !  But  so  it  is.  Capital  is  always  cau- 
tious and  timid,  and  follows  slowly  in  the  path  of 
great  discoveries.  While  "  star-eyed  Science "  flies 
far  in  advance  of  the  human  race,  sordid  Mammon 
creeps  behind.  If  Columbus,  instead  of  the  patron- 
age of  Queen  Isabella,  had  depended  on  a  stock  com- 
pany for  the  means  for  his  expedition,  he  might  never 
have  sailed  from  the  shores  of  Spain.  Happy  was  it 
for  mankind  that  his  faith  and  patience  did  not  wear 
out,  while  going  from  court  to  court,  and  kingdom  to 
kingdom,  and  almost  begging  his  way  from  door  to 
door! 

But  it  is  not  in  human  nature — least  of  all  in  the, 
Saxon  blood — to  despond  long.  The  heart  of  man  is 
like  the  sea,  ebbing  and  returning  with  a  ceaseless 
flow.  Though  at  times  it  seems  to  have  swept  away 
to  distant  shores,  yet  as  moons  revolve  and  tides  re- 
turn, again  the  white-crested  waves  come  rolling  up 
the  beach.  Ten  years  of  constant  defeat  would  seem 
to  have  wrought  a  lasting  discouragement.  Yet  again 
and  again  did  the  baffled  spirit  of  enterprise  return  to 
the  attempt.  In  January,  1864,  Mr.  Field  was  once 
more  on  his  way  to  England,  to  try  it  again.  He 


278       HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

found  the  Directors,  as  before,  deeply  interested  in  the 
enterprise,  and  wishing  it  success.  With  a  grateful 
heart  he  bore  witness  to  their  unfaltering  courage. 
But  mere  courage  and  good  wishes  would  not  lay  the 
Atlantic  Telegraph.  Yet  what  more  could  they  do  ? 
They  could  not  be  expected  to  advance  all  the  capital 
themselves.  They  had  already  subscribed  liberally, 
and  he  could  not  ask  them  to  do  more.  But  with  all 
the  efforts  that  had  been  made  in  England  and  Ameri- 
ca, not  half  the  capital  was  yet  raised.  The  machinery 
was  in  a  dead  lock,  with  little  prospect  of  being  able 
to  move.  It  was  the  misfortune  of  the  enterprise  that 
there  was  no  one  man  who  made  it  his  sole  and  exclu- 
sive charge.  The  Board  of  Directors  contained  some 
of  the  best  men  in  London.  But  they  were,  almost 
without  exception,  engaged  in  very  large  affairs  of 
their  own,  with  no  leisure  to  make  a  public  enterprise 
their  special  care.  To  insure  success,  it  needed  a  trial 
of  the  one-man  power — one  brain,  planning  night  and 
day ;  one  agency  incessantly  at  work,  stirring  up  di- 
rectors, contractors,  and  engineers  ;  and  one  will  push- 
ing it  forward  by  main  strength.  This  was  the  force 
now  to  be  applied. 

The  first  element  needed  to  put  life  into  the  old 
system  was  an  infusion  of  new  blood — new  capital 
and  new  men.  While  the  enterprise  was  in  this 
state  of  collapse,  Mr.  Field  addressed  himself  to  a 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.   279 

gentleman  with  whom,  until  then,  he  had  no  per- 
sonal acquaintance,  but  who  is  well  known  in  London 
as  one  of  the  largest  capitalists  of  Great  Britain — Mr. 
Thomas  Brassey.  Their  first  interview  was  some- 
what remarkable.  Referring  to  it  a  few  months  after, 
Mr.  Field  said:  "When  I  arrived  in  this  country,  in 
January  last,  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company  trem- 
bled in  the  balance.  "We  were  in  want  of  funds,  and 
were  in  negotiations  with  the  government,  and  mak- 
ing great  exertions  to  raise  the  money.  At  this  junc- 
ture I  was  introduced  to  a  gentleman  of  great  integrity 
and  enterprise,  who  is  well  known,  not  only  for  his 
wealth,  but  for  his  foresight,  and  in  attempting  to 
enlist  him  in  our  cause  he  put  me  through  such  a 
cross-examination  as  I  had  never  before  experienced. 
I  thought  I  was  in  the  witness-box.  He  inquired  of 
me  the  practicability  of  the  scheme — what  it  would 
pay,  and  every  thing  else  connected  with  it ;  but  be- 
fore I  left  him,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  him  say 
that  it  was  a  great  national  enterprise  that  ought  to  be 
carried  out,  and,  he  added,  I  will  be  one  of  ten  to  find 
the  money  required  for  it.  From  that  day  to  this  he 
has  never  hesitated  about  it,  and  when  I  mention  his 
name,  you  will  know  him  as  a  man  whose  word  is  as 
good  as  his  bond,  and  as  for  his  bond,  there  is  no  bet- 
ter in  England." 

Having  thus  secured  one  powerful  ally,  Mr.  Field 


280       HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGKAPII. 

took  courage  and  went  to  work  to  make  another.  He 
says :  "  The  words  spoken  by  Mr.  Brassey  in  the  latter 
part  of  January,  '  Let  the  Electric  Telegraph  be  laid 
between  England  and  America,'  encouraged  us  all, 
and  made  us  believe  we  should  succeed  in  raising  the 
necessary  capital,  and  I  then  went  to  work  to  find  nine 
other  Thomas  Brasseys,  (I  did  not  know  whether  he 
was  an  Englishman,  a  Scotchman,  or  an  Irishman ; 
but  I  made  up  my  mind  that  he  combines  all  the  good 
qualities  of  every  one  of  them,)  and  after  considerable 
search  I  met  with  a  rich  friend  from  Manchester,  [Mr. 
John  Fender,  M.P.,]  and  I  asked  him  if  he  would  sec- 
ond Mr.  Brassey,  and  walked  with  him  from  28  Pall 
Mall  to  the  House  of  Commons,  of  which  he  is  a  mem- 
ber. Before  we  reached  the  House,  he  expressed  his 
willingness  to  do  so  to  an  equal  amount." 

This  was  putting  strong  arms  to  the  wheel.  A  few 
days  after,  a  combination  was  formed  to  carry  on  the 
whole  business  of  making  Submarine  Telegraphs,  by 
a  union  of  the  Gutta-Percha  Company  with  the  firm 
of  Glass,  Elliot  &  Co.,  the  principal  manufacturers  of 
sea  cables,  making  one  grand  concern,  to  be  called 
The  Telegraph"  Construction  and  Maintenance  Com- 
pany.  These  two  great  capitalists  entered  into  the 
new  organization,  of  which  Mr.  Pender  was  made 
Chairman.  The  Gutta-Percha  Company  brought  in 
still  further  strength  to  the  joint  enterprise,  in  the  per- 


HISTORY   OF   THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.        281 

son  of  Mr.  John  Chatterton,  and  of  Mr.  "Willoughby 
Smith,  their  electrician,  and  the  inventor  of  the  in- 
sulating material  known  as  Chatterton's  .compound. 
The  union  of  all  these  men  made  a  combination  of 
practical  skill  and  financial  ability,  such  as  could  be 
found  in  few  companies  in  England  or  in  the  world. 
Mr.  R.  A.  Glass  was  chosen  Managing  Director — a  gen- 
tleman who  seems  born  to  be  a  manager,  such  power 
has  he  of  gathering  about  him  talent  in  every  depart- 
ment and  combining  all  into  one  complete  organization. 
Thus  reenforced  by  such  powerful  aid,  the  new  Com- 
pany now  came  forward,  and  offered  at  one  stroke  to 
take  all.  the  remaining  stock  of  the  Company.  This 
was  more  than  half  the  whole  capital.  As  yet,  of  the 
£600,000  required,  but  £285,000  had  been  sub- 
scribed. Now  this  princely  Company  offered  to  take 
the  balance  themselves — £315,000.  They  did  more — • 
taking  £100,003  of  bonds  beside.  Thus  at  one  dead 
lift  these  stalwart  Englishmen  took  the  whole  en- 
terprise on  their  broad  shoulders.  From  that  hour 
the  problem  was  solved.  Thus  after  a  dead  lock  of 
six  months  the  wheels  were  unloosed,  and  the  gigan- 
tic machinery  began  to  revolve. 

This  was  a  triumph  worthy  to  be  honored  in  the 
way  that  Englishmen  love,  by  a  little  festivity ;  and 
as  it  chanced  to  be  now  ten  years  since  Mr.  Field  had 
embarked  in  the  enterprise,  the  pleasant  thought  oo 


282       I1ISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

curred  to  him  of  getting  his  -friends  together  to  cele- 
brate the  anniversary.  Accordingly,  on  the  fifteenth 
of  March,  he  invited  them  to  dine  together  at  the  Pal- 
ace Hotel.  It  was  a  pleasant  occasion,  calling  forth 
the  usual  amount  of  toasts  and  speeches.  Of  the 
latter,  those  of  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  Minister, 
and  of  John  Bright,  were  widely  copied  in  the  United 
States.  The  next  day  was  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company,  when  the  Chairman, 
The  Eight  Hon.  James  Stuart  Wortley,  thus  referred 
to  the  gathering  of  th,e  night  before  : 

"  Without  saying  any  thing  to  detract  from  my 
deep  source  of  gratitude  to  the  other  Directors,  I  can- 
not help  especially  alluding  to  Mr.  Cyrus  Field,  who 
is  present  to-day,  and  who  has  crossed  the  Atlantic 
thirty-one  times  in  the  service  of  this  Company,  hav- 
ing celebrated  at  his  table  yesterday  the  anniversary 
of  the  tenth  year  of  the  day  when  he  first  left  Boston 
in  the  service  of  the  Company.  Collected  round  his 
table  last  night  was  a  company  of  distinguished  men — • 
members  of  Parliament,  great  capitalists,  distinguished 
merchants  and  manufacturers,  engineers  and  men  of 
science,  such  as  is  rarely  found  together  even  in  the 
highest  house  in  this  great  metropolis.  It  was  very 
agreeable  to  see  an  American  citizen  so  surrounded. 
To  me  it  was  so  personally,  as  it  would  have  been  to 
you,  and  it  was  still  more  gratifying,  inasmuch  as  we 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       283 

were  there  to  celebrate  the  approaching  accomplish 
ment  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph." 

"We  have  no  wish  to  repeat  mere  phrases  of  com- 
pliment; but  it  is  always  grateful  to  one  who  has 
toiled  long  and  faithfully  to  carry  out  a  public  enter- 
prise, to  find  in  the  hour  of  triumph  that  his  labors 
are  not  forgotten.  The  Atlantic  Telegraph  had  just 
passed  through  a  critical  period  of  its  history.  The 
enterprise  had  been  in  great  danger  of  abandonment — 
at  least  for  years.  From  this  condition  it  had  been 
rescued  only  by  the  most  prompt  and  vigorous  effort. 
How  much  this  altered  state  of  things  was  owing  to 
the  exertions  of  Mr.  Field,  let  those  speak  who  know 
best.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Directors  of  the  Company, 
May  fifth,  1864,  on  motion  of  Mr.  C.  M.  Lampson,  sec- 
onded by  Mr.  Francis  Le  Breton,  it  was  unanimously 

Resolved,  u  That  the  sincere  thanks  of  this  Board  be 
given  to  Mr.  Cyrus  W.  Field,  for  his  untiring  energy 
in  promoting  the  general  interests  of  the  Atlantic 
Telegraph  Company,  and  especially  for  his  valuable 
and  successful  exertions  during  his  present  visit  to 
Great  Britain,  in  reference  to  the  restoration  of  its 
financial  position,  and  prospects  of  complete  success." 

Thus  after  infinite  toil,  the  wreck  of  old  disasters 
was  cleared  away,  and  the  mighty  task  begun  anew. 
The  works  of  the  Telegraph  Construction  and  Main- 
tenance Company  are  the  largest  in  the  world,  and  all 


2S4       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

their  resources  were  now  put  in  requisition.  Never 
did  greater  care  preside  over  a  public  enterprise.  It 
was  a  case  in  which  the  motive  of  interest  was  second- 
ed or  overborne  by  pride  and  ambition.  A  cable  was 
to  be  made  to  span  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  to  join  the 
hemispheres  ;  and  it  was  a  natural  pride  to  produce  a 
work  that  should  be  as  nearly  perfect  as  human  skill 
could  make  it.  The  Scientific  Committee,  that  had 
so  long  investigated  the  subject,  had  approved  a  par- 
ticular form  of  cable,  as  "  the  one  most  calculated  to 
insure  success  in  the  present  state  of  our  experimental 
knowledge  respecting  deep-sea  cables,"  but  at  the 
same  time  recommended  the  utmost  vigilance  at  every 
stage  of  the  manufacture.  These  precautions  deserve 
to  be  noted,  as  showing  with  what  jealous  care  science 
watches  over  the  birth  of  a  great  enterprise,  and  pre- 
scribes the  conditions  of  success.  They  recommended : 
That  the  conductivity  of  the  ivire  should  be  fixed  at 
a  high  standard,  certainly  not  less  than  eighty-five  per 
cent ;  that  the  cable  should  be  at  least  equal  to  the 
best  ever  made ;  that  the  core  should  be  electrically 
perfect ;  that  it  should  be  tested  under  hydraulic  press- 
ure, and  at  the  highest  pressure  attainable  in  the  tanks 
at  the  Company's  works  ;  that  after  this  pressure,  the 
core  should  be  examined  again,  and  before  receiving 
its  outer  covering,  be  required  to  pass  the  full  electrical 
test  under  water  ;  that  careful  and  frequent  mechanical 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       285 

tests  be  made  upon  the  iron  wire,  and  hemp  as  to  their 
strength  ;  that  special  care  be  given  to  tldQ  joints,  where 
different  lengths  of  cable  were  spliced  together ;  and 
that  when  completed,  the  whole  be  tested  under  water 
for  some  length  of  time,  at  a  temperature  of  seventy- 
five  degrees.  This  was  higher  by  forty  degrees  than 
the  temperature  of  the  Atlantic.  The  insulation  is 
improved  by  cold ;  so  that,  if  it  remained  perfect  in 
this  warm  water,  it  could  not  fail  in  the  icy  depths  of 
the  ocean. 

After  passing  through  such  elaborate  tests,  all  will 
be  glad  to  see  the  final  product  of  so  much  care  and 
skill.  As  the  long  line  begins  to  reel  off  from  the 
great  wheels  and  drums,  we  may  examine  it  in  its  com- 


OLD  ATLANTIC  CABLE,  1858. 


NEW  ATLANTIC  CABLE,  1865. 


286        HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

pieted  and  more  perfect  form.  It  is  only  necessary  to 
compare  it  with  the  cable  laid  in  1858,  to  show  its  im- 
mense superiority.  A  glance  at  the.  two  as  they  ap- 
pear on  the  preceding  page  will  show  that  the  cable  had 
grown-  since  first  it  was  planted  in  the  ocean,  as  if  it 
were  a  living  product  of  the  sea ;  or  if  we  choose  to 
consider  it  as  a  tendril  of  the  British  oak,  the  slender 
twig  had  become  a  tough,  strong  limb.  This  growth 
had  been  in  every  part,  from  core  to  circumference. 

First,  the  central  copper  wire,  which  was  the  spinal 
cord,  the  nerve  along  which  the  lightning  was  to  run, 
was  nearly  three  times  larger  than  before.  The  old 
conductor  was  a  strand,  consisting  of  seven  fine  wires, 
six  laid  round  one,  and  weighed  only  one  hundred 
and  seven  pounds  to  the  mile.  The  new  was  com- 
posed of  the  same  number  of  wires,  but  weighing 
three  hundred  pounds  to  the  mile.  This  was  made 
of  the  finest  copper  that  could  be  obtained  in  the 
world — making  a  perfect  conductor.  To  secure  insu- 
lation, this  conductor  was  first  imbedded  for  solidity 
in  Chatterton's  compound,  a  preparation  impervious 
to  water,  and  then  covered  with  four  layers  of  gutta- 
percha,  which  were  laid  on  alternately  with  four  thin 
layers  of  Chatterton's  compound.  The  old  cable  had 
but  three  coatings  of  gutta-percha,  with  nothing  be- 
tween. Its  entire  insulation  weighed  but  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty-one  pounds  to  the  mile,  while  that  of 
the  new  weighed  four  hundred  pounds. 


HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.      287 

But  a  conductor  ever  so  perfect,  with  insulation 
complete,  was  useless  without  proper  external  pro- 
tection, to  guard  it  against  the  dangers  which  must 
attend  the  long  and  difficult  process  of  laying  it  across 
the  ocean.  The  old  cable  had  broken  a  number  of 
times.  The  new  must  be  made  stronger.  To  this 
end  it  was  incased  with  ten  solid  wires  of  the  best 
iron,  or  rather,  of  a  soft  steel,  like  that  used  by  Whit- 
worth  for  his  cannon.  This  made  the  cable  much 
heavier  than  before.  The  old  cable  weighed  but 
twenty  cwt.  to  the  mile,  while  the  new  one  reached 
thirty-five  cwt.  and  three  quarters.  But  mere  size 
and  weight  were  nothing,  except  as  they  indicated 
increased  strength.  This  was  secured,  not  only*  by 
the  larger  iron  wires,  but  by  a  further  coating  of  rope. 
Each  wire  was  surrounded  separately  with  five  strands 
of  Manilla  yarn,  saturated  with  a  preservative  com- 
pound, and  the  whole  laid  spirally  round  the  core, 
which  latter  was  padded  with  ordinary  hemp,  satu- 
rated with  the  same  preservative  mixture.  This  rope 
covering  was  important  in  several  respects.  It  kept 
the  wires  from  coming  in  contact  with  the  salt  water, 
by  which  they  might  be  corroded  ;  and  while  it  added 
greatly  to  the  strength  of  the  cable,  it  gave  it  also  its 
own  flexibility — so  that  while  it  had  the  strength  of  an 
iron  chain,  it  had  also  the  lightness  and  flexibility  of 
a  common  ship's  rope.  This  union  of  two  qualities 


288       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

was  all-important.  The  great  problem  had  been  to 
combine  strength  with  flexibility.  Mere  dead  weight 
was  an  objection.  The  new  cable,  though  nearly 
twice  as  heavy  as  the  old  in  air,  when  immersed  in 
water,  weighed  but  a  trifle  more  ;  so  that  it  was  really 
much  lighter  in  proportion  to  its  size.  This  increased 
lightness  was  a  very  important  matter  in  laying  the 
cable,  as  it  caused  it  to  sink  slowly.  The  old  cable, 
though  smaller,  was  heavy  almost  as  a  rod  of  iron, 
so  that,  as  it  ran  out,  it  dropped  at  an  angle  which 
exposed  it  to  great  danger  in  case  of  a  sudden  lurch 
of  the  ship.  Thus  in  1857  it  was  broken  by  the  stern 
of  the. Niagara  being  thrown  up  on  a  wave  just  as  the 
brakes  were  shut  down.  Now  the  cable,  being  par- 
tially buoyed  by  the  rope,  would  float  out  to  a  great 
distance  from  the  ship,  and  sink  down  slowly  in  the 
deep  waters. 

By  this  combination  of  rope  and  iron,  a  cable  was 
secured  two  and  a  half  times  as  strong  as  the  old— the 
breaking  strain  of  the  former  having  been  three  tons, 
five  cwt.,  and  of  the  latter  seven  tons  and  fifteen  cwt. 
Or,  to  put  it  in  another  form,  the  contract  strain  of  the 
former  was  less  than  five  times  its  own  weight  per 
mile  in  water ;  so  that  if  the  cable  had  been  laid  ir 
some  parts  of  the  Atlantic,  where  the  ocean  is  more 
than  five  miles  deep,  it  would  have  broken  under  the 
enormous  strain.  But  the  contract  strain  of  the  new 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       289 

cable  was  equal  to  eleven  times  its  weight  per  mile  in 
water,  which,  as  the  greatest  depth  of  water  to  be 
passed  was  but  two  and  a  half  miles,  rendered  the 
cable  more  than  four  times  as  strong  as  was  required. 
This  great  chain  which  was  to  bind  the  sea  was  to 
be  twenty-three  hundred  nautical  miles  long,  or  near- 
ly twenty-seven  hundred  statute  miles!  But  where 
could  this  enormous  bulk  be  stowed?  Its  weight 
would  sink  the  Spanish  Armada.  In  1858,  the  cable 
loaded  down  two  of  the  largest  ships  of  war  in  the 
world,  the  Niagara  and  the  Agamemnon.  Yet  now  one 
much  larger  and  bulkier  was  to  be  taken  on  board. 
This  might  have  proved  a  serious  embarrassment,  but 
that  Providence,  which  leads  the  progress  of  the  race, 
prepares  the  means  of  advancement.  It  so  happened 
that  a  few  years  before  there  had  been  built  in  Eng- 
land a  ship  of  enormous  proportions  —  the  greatest 
floating  thing  constructed  by  the  labor  of  man  since 
Noah's  ark  was  borne  on  the  waters  of  the  Deluge. 
The  Great  Eastern,  whose  iron  walls  had  been  reared 
by  the  genius  of  Brunei,  had  been  for  ten  years  waiting 
for  "a  mission."  As  a  specimen  of  marine  architect- 
ure she  was  perfect.  She  walked  the  waters  in  tow- 
ering pride,  scarce  bending  her  imperial  head  to  tho 
waves  that  broke  against  her  sides,  as  against  the 
rocks  of  the  shore.  But  with  all  her  noble  qualities, 
Bhe  was  too  great  for  the  ordinary  demands  of  com" 


290      HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

merce.  Her  very  size  was  against  her;  and  while 
smaller  ships,  on  which  she  looked  down  with  con- 
tempt,  were  continually  flying  to  and  fro  across  the 
sea,  this  leviathan, 

Hugest  of  all  God's  works 
That  swim  the  ocean  stream, 

could  find  nothing  worthy  of  her  greatness.  Here, 
then,  was  the  vessel  to  receive  the  Atlantic  cable. 

Seeing  her  fitness  for  the  purpose,  a  few  of  the  gen- 
tlemen who  were  active  in  reviving  the  Atlantic  Tele- 
graph combined  to  purchase  her,  as  she  was  about  to 
be  sold.  One  of  them  went  down  with  all  speed  to 
Liverpool,  and  the  next  day  telegraphed  that  the  Big 
Ship  was  theirs.  The  new  owners  at  once  put  her  at 
the  service  of  the  Atlantic  Company,  with  the  express 
agreement  that  any  compensation  for  her  use  should 
depend  on  the  success  of  the  expedition. 

Next  to  the  good  fortune  of  finding  such  a  ship 
ready  to  their  hands,  was  that  of  finding  an  officer 
worthy  to  command  her.  Captain  James  Anderson, 
of  the  China,  one  of  the  Cunard  steamers,  had  long 
been  known  to  the  travelling  public,  both  of  England 
and  America,  and  no  one  ever  crossed  the  sea  with 
him  without  having  awakened  the  strongest  feeling  of 
respect  for  his  manly  and  seamanly  qualities.  A  thor- 
ough master  of  his  profession,  having  followed  the  sea 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.      291 

for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  he  was  also  a  man  of  much 
general  intelligence,  and  of  no  small  scientific  attain- 
ments. But  it  was  something  more  than  this  which 
inspired  such  confidence.  '  It  was  his  ceaseless  watch- 
fulness. He  always  carried  with  him  a  feeling  of  re- 
ligious responsibility  for  the  lives  of  all  on  board,  and 
for  every  interest  committed  to  him.  A  man  of  few 
words,  modest  in  manner,  he  was  yet  clear  in  judg- 
ment and  prompt  in  action.  This  vigilance  was  espe- 
cially marked  in  moments  of  danger.  When  a  storm 
was  gathering,  all  who  saw  that  tall  figure  on  the 
wheel-house,  watching  with  a  keen  eye  every  spar 
in  the  ship  and  every  cloud  in  the  horizon,  felt  a 
new  security  from  being  under  his  care.  Such  was 
the  man  to  be  put  in  charge  of  a  great  expedition. 
He  was  the  unanimous  choice  of  the  Board  of  Direct- 
ors. The  Cunard  Company,  with  great  generosity, 
consented  to  give  up  his  services,  valuable  as  the^ 
were,  to  forward  an  enterprise  of  such  public  interest. 
Being  thus  free,  he  accepted  the  trust,  and  entered 
upon  it  with  enthusiasm.  How  well  he  fulfilled  the 
expectations  of  all,  the  sequel  will  show. 

The  work  now  went  on  with  speed.  The  wheels 
began  to  hum,  and  the  great  drums  to  reel  off  that 
line  which,  considering  the  distance  it  was  to  span, 
was  hardly  to  be  measured  by  miles,  but  rather  by 
degrees  of  the  earth's  surface.  Mere  figures  give  but 


292       HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

a  vague  impression  of  vast  spaces.  But  it  is  a  curious 
fact,  ascertained  by  an  exact  computation,  that  if  all 
the  wires  of  copper  and  of  iron,  with  the  layers  that 
made  up  the  core  and  the  outer  covering,  and  the 
strands  of  yarn  that  were  twisted  into  this  one  knotted 
sea-cable,  were  placed  end  to  end,  the  whole  length 
would  reach  from  the  earth  to  the  moon  ! 

As  it  came  from  the  works  in  its  completed  state,  it 
was  plunged  in  water,  to  make  it  familiar  with  the  ele- 
ment which  was  to  be  its  future  home.  In  the  yards 
of  the  Company  stood  eight  large  tanks,  which  could 
hold  each  a  hundred  and  forty  miles.  Here  the  cable 
was  coiled  to  "hybernate,"  till  it  should  be  wanted  for 
use  the  coming  spring. 

Seeing  the  work  thus  well  under  way,  with  no 
chance  of  another  disastrous  check,  Mr.  Field  left 
England  with  heart  at  rest,  and  returned  to  America 
for  the  winter.  Bat  the  first  days  of  spring  saw  him 
again  on  the  Atlantic.  He  reached  England  on  the 
eighteenth  of  March.  His  visit  was  more  satisfactory 
than  a  year  before.  The  work  was  now  well  ad- 
vanced. It  was  a  goodly  sight  to  go  down  to  Mor- 
den  Wharf  at  Greenwich,  and  see  the  huge  machinery 
in  motion,  spinning  off  their  leagues  of  deep-sea  line. 
The  triumph  apparently  was  near  at  hand.  It  seemed 
indeed  a  predestined  thing  that  the  cable  should  final- 
ly be  laid  in  the  year  of  grace  1865— the  end  for  which 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       295 

he  had  so  faithfully  toiled  since  1858 — seven  weary 
years — as  long  as  Jacob  served  for  Eachel  I  But,  less 
fortunate  than  Jacob,  he  was  doomed  to  one  more  dis- 
appointment. At  present,  however,  all  looked  well, 
and  he  could  not  but  regard  the  prospect  with  satis- 
faction. 

Having  no  more  drudgery  of  raising  money,  he  had 
now  a  few  weeks'  leisure  to  take  a  voyage  up  the 
Mediterranean.  The  canal  across  the  Isthmus  of 
Suez,  which  had  been  so  long  in  progress,  under  the 
supervision  of  French  engineers,  was  at  length  so  far 
advanced  that  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean  were 
about  to  mingle  with  those  of  the  Eed  Sea,  and  dele- 
gates were  invited  to  be  present  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  An  invitation  had  been  sent  to  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  in  New- York,  and  Mr.  Field,  then  start 
ing  for  Europe,  was  appointed  as  its  representative 
The  visit  was  one  of  extraordinary  interest.  The  oc 
casion  brought  together  a  number  of  eminent  engineers 
from  every  country  of  Europe,  in  company  with  whom 
this  stranger  from  the  New  World  visited  the  most 
ancient  of  kingdoms  to  see  the  spirit  of  modern  enter 
prise  invading  the  land  of  the  Pyramids. 

He  returned  to  England  about  the  first  of  May  to 
find  the  work  nearly  completed.  The  cable  was  al- 
most done,  and  a  large  part  of  it  was  already  coiled 
on  board  the  ship.  This  was  an  operation  of  much 


294        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

interest,  which  deserves  to  be  described.  The  manu 
facture  had  begun  on  the  first  of  September,  and  had 
gone  on  for  eight  months  without  ceasing,  the  works 
turning  out  fourteen  miles  a  day  even  during  the 
short  days  of  winter.  As  the  spring  advanced,  and 
the  days  grew  longer,  the  amount  was  of  course  much 
increased.  But  by  the  last  of  January  they  had  al- 
ready accumulated  about  nine  hundred  miles  of  com- 
pleted cable,  when  began  the  long  and  tedious  work  of 
transferring  it  to  the  Great  Eastern.  It  was  thus  slow, 
because  it  could  not  be  made  directly  from  the  yard  to 
the  ship.  The  depth  of  water  at  Greenwich  was  not 
such  as  to  allow  the  Great  Eastern  to  be  brought  up 
alongside  the  wharf.  She  was  lying  at  Sheerness, 
thirty  miles  below,  and  the  cable  had  to  be  put  on 
board  of  lighters  and  taken  down  to  where  she  lay  in 
the  stream.  For  this  purpose  the  Admiralty  had  fur- 
nished to  the  Company  two  old  hulks,  the  Iris  and 
the  Amethyst,  which  took  their  loads  in  turn.  When 
the  former  had  taken  on  board  some  two  hundred  and 
fifty  tons  of  cable,  she  was  towed  down  to  the  side 
of  the  Great  Eastern,  and  the  other  took  her  place. 

This  was  an  operation  which  could  not  be  done  with 
speed.  With  all  the  men  who  could  be  employed,  they 
coiled  on  board  only  about  two  miles  an  hour,  or 
twenty  miles  a  day — at  which  rate  it  would  take  about 
five  months.  The  work  began  on  the  nineteenth  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       295 

January,  early  in  the  morning,  and  continued  till 
June,  before  all  was  safely  stowed  on  board.  The 
Great  Eastern  herself  had  been  fitted  up  to  receive 
her  enormous  burden.  It  was  an  object  to  stow  the 
cable  in  as  few  coils  as  possible.  Yet  it  could  not  be 
all  piled  in  one  mass.  Such  a  dead  weight  in  the 
centre  of  the  ship  would  cause  her  to  roll  fearfully. 
If  coiled  in  one  circle,  it  was  computed  that  it  would 
nearly  fill  Astley's  theatre  from  the  floor  of  the  cir- 
cus to  the  roof—making  a  pile  fifty-eight  feet  wide 
and  sixty  feet  high.  To  distribute  this  enormous 
bulk  and  weight,  it  was  disposed  in  three  tanks- 
one  aft,  one  amidships,  and  one  forward.  The  lat- 
ter, from  the  shape  of  the  ship,  was  a  little  smaller 
than  the  others,  and  held  only  six  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  miles  of  cable,  while  the  two  former  held  a  lit- 
tle over  eight  hundred  each.  All  were  made  of 
thick  wrought-iron  plates,  and  water-tight,  so  that 
the  cable  could  be  kept  under  water  till  it  was  im- 
mersed in  the  sea. 

Thus  with  her  spacious  chambers  prepared  for  the 
reception  of  her  guest,  the  Great  Eastern  opened  her 
doors  to  take  in  the  Atlantic  cable ;  and  long  as  it 
was,  and  wide  and  high  the  space  it  filled,  it  found 
ample  verge  and  room  within  her  capacious  sides. 
Indeed,  it  was  the  wonder  of  all  who  beheld  it,  how- 
like  a  monster  of  the  sea,  she  devoured  all  that  other 


296        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ships  could  bring.  The  Iris  and  the  Amethyst  came 
up  time  after  time  and  disgorged  their  iron  contents. 
Yet  this  Leviathan  swallowed  ship-load  after  ship-load, 
as  if  she  could  never  be  satisfied.  A  writer  who  visit- 
ed her  in  May,  when  the  cable  was  nearly  all  on  board, 
was  at  a  loss  to  find  it.  He  looked  along  the  deck, 
from  stem  to  stern,  but  not  a  sign  of  it  appeared. 
How  he  searched,  and  how, the  wonder  grew,  he  tells 
in  a  letter  to  the  "  Kail  way  News."  After  describing 
his  approach  to  the  ship,  and  climbing  up  her  sides 
and  his  survey  of  her  deck,  he  proceeds : 

"But  it  is  time  that  we  should  look  after  what  we 
have  mainly  come  to  see,  the  telegraph  cable.  To  our 
intense  astonishment,  we  behold  it  nowhere,  although 
informed  that  there  are  nearly  two  thousand  miles  of 
it  already  on  board,  and  the  remaining  piece — a  piece 
long  enough  to  stretch  from  Land's  End  to  John 
O'Grroat's — is  in  course  of  shipment.  We  walk  up 
and  down  on  the  deck  of  the  Great  Eastern  without 
seeing  this  gigantic  chain  which  is  to  bind  together 
the  Old  and  the  New  "World ;  and  it  is  only  on  hav- 
ing the  place  pointed  out  to  us  that  we  find  where  the 
cable  lies  and  by  what  process  it  is  taken  on  board. 
On  the  side  opposite  to  where  we  landed,  deep  below 
the  deck  of  our  giant,  there  is  moored  a  vessel  sur- 
mounted by  a  timber  structure  resembling  a  house, 
and  from  this  vessel  the  wonderful  telegraph  cable  is 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       297 

drawn  silently  into  the  immense  womb  of  the  Great 
Eastern.  The  work  is  done  so  quietly  and  noiseless- 
ly, by  means  of  a  small  steam-engine,  that  we  scarcely 
notice  it.  Indeed,  were  it  not  pointed  out  to  us,  we 
would  never  think  that  that  little  iron  cord,  about  an 
inch  in  diameter,  which  is  sliding  over  a  few  rollers 
and  through  a  wooden  table,  is  a  thing  of  world- wide 
fame — a  thing  which  may  influence  the  life  of  whole 
nations ;  nay,  which  may  affect  the  march  of  civiliza- 
tion. Following  the  direction  in  which  the  iron  rope 
goes,  we  now  come  to  the  most  marvellous  sight  yet 
seen  on  board  the  Great  Eastern.  We  find  ourselves 
in  a  little  wooden  cabin,  and  look  down,  over  a  railing 
at  the  side,  into  an  immense  cavern  below.  This  cav- 
ern is  one  of  the  three  '  tanks '  in  which  the  two-thou- 
sand-mile cable  is  finding  a  temporary  home.  The 
passive  agent  of  electricity  comes  creeping  in  here  in 
a  beautiful,  silent  manner,  and  is  deposited  in  spiral 
coils,  layer  upon  layer.  It  is  almost  dark  at  the  im- 
mense depth  below,  and  we  can  only  dimly  discern 
the  human  figures  through  whose  hands  the  coil 
passes  to  its  bed.  Suddenly,  however,  the  men  begin 
singing.  They  intone  a  low,  plaintive  song  of  the 
ssa;  something  like  Kingsley's 

'Three  fishers  went  sailing  away  to  the  West, 
Away  to  the  West  as  the  sun  went  down — * 

the  sounds  of  which  rise  up  from  the  dark,  deep  cav- 


298       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

ern  with,  startling  effect,  and  produce  an  indescribable 
impression. 

"  We  proceed  on  ;  but  the  song  of  the  sailors  who 
are  taking  charge  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  cable  is 
haunting  us  like  a  dream.  In  vain  that  our  guide 
conducts  us  all  over  the  big  ship,  through  miles  of 
galleries,  passages,  staircases,  and  promenades ;  through 
gorgeous  saloons,  full  of  mirrors,  marbles,  paintings, 
and  upholstery,  made  '  regardless  of  expense ; '  and 
through  buildings  crowded  with  glittering  steam  ap- 
paratus of  gigantic  dimensions,  where  the  latent  powei 
of  coal  and  water  creates  the  force  which  propels  this 
monster  vessel  over  the  seas.  In  vain  our  attention 
is  directed  to  all  these  sights ;  we  do  not  admire  them ; 
our  imagination  is  used  up.  The  echo  of  the  sailors' 
song  in  the  womb  of  the  Great  Eastern  will  not  be 
banished  from  our  mind.  It  raises  visions  of  the  fu- 
ture of  the  mystic  iron  coil  under  our  feet — how  it  will 
roll  forth  again  from  its  narrow  berth  ;  how  it  will  sink 
to  the  bottom  of  the  Atlantic,  or  hang  from  mountain 
to  mountain  far  below  the  stormy  waves ;  and  how 
two  great  nations,  offsprings  of  one  race  and  pioneers 
of  civilization,  will  speak  through  this  wonderful  coil, 
annihilating  distance  and  time.  "Who  can  help  dream- 
ing here,  on  the  spot  where  we  stand  ?  For  it  is  truly 
a  marvellous  romance  of  civilization,  this  Great  East- 
ern and  this  Atlantic  Telegraph  cable.  Even  should 


HISTORY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.       299 

our  age  produce  nothing  else,  it  alone  would  be  the 
triumph  of  our  age." 

As  the  work  approached  completion,  public  interest 
revived  in  the  stupendous  undertaking,  and  crowds  of 
wonder-seekers  came  down  from  London  to  see  the 
preparations  for  the  expedition.  Even  if  not  admit- 
ted on  board,  they  found  a  satisfaction  in  sailing 
round  the  great  ship,  in  whose  mighty  bosom  was 
coiled  this  huge  sea-serpent.  It  had  also  many  dis- 
tinguished visitors.  Among  others,  the  Prince  of 
Wales  came  to  see  the  ocean  girdle  which  was  to 
link  the  British  islands  with  his  future  dominions  be- 
yond the  sea. 

At  length,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  May,  almost  the 
last  day  of  Spring,  the  manufacture  of  the  cable  was 
finished.  The  machines  which  for  eight  months  had 
been  in  a  constant  whirl,  made  their  last  round.  The 
tinkling  of  a  bell  announced  that  the  machinery  was 
empty,  and  the  mighty  work  stood  completed.  It 
only  remained  that  it  should  be  got  on  board,  and  the 
ship  prepared  for  her  voyage.  Hundreds  of  busy 
hands  were  at  work  without  ceasing,  and  yet  it  was 
six  weeks  before  she  was  ready  to  put  to  sea. 

It  may  well  be  believed  that  it  was  no  small  affair 
to  equip  such  an  expedition.  Beside  the  enormous 
burden  of  the  cable  itself,  the  Great  Eastern  had  to 
take  on  board  seven  or  eight  thousand  tons  of  coal, 


300       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGDAPH. 

enough  for  a  fleet,  to  feed  her  fires.  Then  she  carried 
about  five  hundred  men,  for  whom  she  had  to  make 
provision  during  the  weeks  they  might  be  at  sea. 
The  stores  laid  in  were  enough  for  a  small  army. 
Standing  on  the  wheel-house,  and  looking  down,  one 
might  fancy  himself  in  some  large  farm-yard  of  Eng- 
land. There  stood  the  motherly  cow  that  was  to  give 
them  milk ;  and  a  dozen  oxen,  and  twenty  pigs,  and  a 
hundred  and  twenty  sheep,  while  whole  flocks  of 
ducks  and  geese,  and  fowls  of  every  kind,  cackled  as 
in  a  poultry-yard.  Beside  all  this  live  stock,  hun- 
dreds of  barrels  of  provisions,  of  meats,  and  fruits, 
were  stored  in  the  well-stocked  larder  below.  Thus 
laden  for  her  voyage,  the  Great  Eastern  had  in  her  a 
weight,  including  her  own  machinery,  of  twenty-one 
thousand  tons — a  burden  almost  as  great  as  could 
have  been  carried  by  the  whole  fleet  with  which 
Nelson  fought  the  battle  of  Trafalgar. 

As  the  time  of  departure  drew  near,  public  curiosity 
was  excited,  and  there  was  an  extraordinary  desire  to 
witness  the  approaching  attempt.  The  Company  was 
besieged  by  applications  from  all  quarters  for  permis- 
sion to  accompany  the  expedition..  Had  these  re- 
quests been  granted,  on  the  scale  asked,  even  the  large 
dimensions  of  the  Great  Eastern  could  hardly  have 
been  sufficient  for  the  crowds  on  board.  The  demand 
was  most  pressing  for  places  for  newspaper  correspond- 


HISTOKY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       301 

3nts.  These  came  not  only  from  England,  but  from 
France  and  America.  Almost  every  journal  in  Lon- 
don claimed  the  privilege  of  being  represented.  The 
result  was  what  might  have  been  expected.  As  it 
was  impossible  to  satisfy  all,  and  to  discriminate  in 
favor  of  some,  and  exclude  others,  would  seem  partial 
and  unjust,  they  were  finally  obliged  to  exclude  all. 
Of  course  this  gave  great  offence.  There  was  an  out- 
cry in  England  and  in  the  United  States  at  what  was 
denounced  as  a  selfish  and  suicidal  policy.  But  it  is 
doubtful  whether  any  other  possible  course  would 
have  given  better  satisfaction. 

Whether  the  Managers  erred  in  this  or  not,  it 
should  be  said  that  they  applied  the  same  inexora- 
ble rule  to  themselves — even,  directors  of  the  Com- 
pany being  excluded,  unless  they  had  some  special 
business  on  board. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  expedition  was 
not  under  the  control  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Com- 
pany at  all,  but  of  the  Telegraph  Construction  and 
Maintenance  Company,  which  had  undertaken  the 
work  in  fulfilment  of  a  contract  with  the  former  Com- 
pany to  manufacture  and  lay  down  a  cable  across  tho 
Atlantic,  in  which  it  assumed  the  whole  responsibility, 
not  only  making  the  cable,  but  chartering  the  ship 
and  appointing  the  officers,  and  sending  its  own  engi- 
neers to  lay  it  down.  Of  course  it  had  an  enormous 


302        UISTOKY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGEAPII. 

stake  in  the  result.  Hence  it  felt,  not  only  authorized, 
but  bound,  to  organize  the  expedition  solely  with,  refer- 
ence to  success.  It  was  not  a  voyage  of  pleasure,  but 
for  business ;  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  great  and 
most  difficult  undertaking.  Hence  it  was  right  that 
most  strict  rules  should  be  adopted.  Accordingly 
there  was  not  a  man  on  board  who  had  not  some  busi- 
ness there*  As  the  voyage  promised  to  be  one  of  the 
utmost  practical  interest  to  electricians  and  engineers, 
several  young  men  were  received  as  assistants  in  the 
testing-room  or  in  the  engineers'  department ;  but  there 
was  no  person  who  was  not  in  some  way  engaged  on 
the  business  of  one  or  the  other  company,  or  con- 
nected with  the  management  of  the  ship.  Except 
Mr.  Field,  not  an  Atlantic  Telegraph  Director  ac- 
companied the  expedition  ;  and  he  represented  also 
the  Newfoundland  Company.  Mr.  Gooch,  M.P.,  was 
at  once  a  Director  of  the  Telegraph  Construction  and 
Maintenance  Company,  and  Chairman  of  the  Board 
that  owned  the  Great  Eastern,  and  so  represented 
both  those  companies  which  had  so  great  a  stake 
in  the  result. 

Thus  the  whole  business  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Telegraph  Construction  and  Maintenance  Company. 
It  had  its  own  officers  to  man  the  expedition — the 
captain  and  crew  to  sail  the  ship — its  engineers  to 
lay  the  cable — and  its  electricians  to  test  it.  Even  the 


HISTOBY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       303 

eminent  electricians,  Professor  Thomson  and  Mr.  Var- 
ley,  who  were  on  board  in  the  service  of  the  Atlan- 
tic Telegraph  Company,  were  not  allowed  to  inter- 
fere, nor  even  to  give  advice  unless  it  were  asked  for  in 
writing,  and  then  it  was  to  be  given  in  writing. 
Their  office  was  only  to  test  the  cable  when  laid,  to 
pass  messages  through  it  from  Newfoundland  to  Ire- 
land, and  to  report  it  complete. 

So  rigorous  were  the  rules  which  governed  this 
memorable  voyage.  The  whole  enterprise  was  or- 
ganized as  completely  as  a  naval  expedition.  Every 
man  had  his  place.  As  when  a  ship  is  going  into  bat- 
tle, every  body  is  sent  below  that  has  not  some  busi- 
ness on  deck,  so  it  is  not  strange  that  in  such  a  critical 
enterprise  they  did  not  want  a  host  of  supernumeraries 
on  board. 

Yet  the  Company  was  not  unmindful  of  the  anxiety 
of  the  public  for  news,  and  since  it  could  not  give 
a  place  to  many  correspondents,  it  engaged  one,  and 
that  the  best — W.  IT.  Kussell,  LL.D.,  the  well-known 
correspondent  of  the  London  Times,  in  the  Crimea 
and  in  India.  This  brilliant  writer  was  engaged  to 
accompany  the  expedition — not  to  praise  without  dis- 
crimination, but  to  report  events  faithfully  from  day 
to  day.  He  was  accompanied  by  several  artists,  to  il- 
lustrate the  scenes  of  the  voyage.  Thus  the  Company 
made  every  provision  to  furnish  information  and  even 


304       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

entertainment  to  the  public.  Several  of  these  gentle- 
men afterward  wrote  accounts  for  different  maga- 
zines— Blackwood,  Cornhiil,  and  Macmillan's.  Their 
different  reports,  and  especially  the  volume  of  Dr. 
Russell,  which  combines  the  accuracy  and  minute- 
ness of  a  diary  kept  from  day  to  day,  with  brilliant 
descriptions,  set  off  by  illustrations  from  drawings 
of  the  artists,  furnish  the  public  as  full  and  complete- 
an  account  as  if  there  had  been  a  special  correspond- 
ent for  every  journal  of  England  and  America. 

But  if  the  public  at  large  were  very  properly  ex- 
cluded, the  organization  on  board  was  perfect  and 
complete.  At  the  head  was  Captain  Anderson,  of 
whom  we  have  already  spoken.  As  his  duties  would 
be  manifold  and  increasing,  he  had  requested  the  aid 
of  an  assistant  commander,  and  Captain  Moriarty, 
E.  IS".,  who  had  been  in  the  Agamemnon  in  1858, 
was  permitted  by  the  Admiralty  to  accompany  the 
ship,  and  to  give  the  invaluable  aid  of  his  experience 
and  skill.  The  government  also  generously  granted 
two  ships  of  war,  the  Sphinx  and  the  Terrible,  to 
attend  the  Great  Eastern.  Thus  the  whole  equip- 
ment of  the  expedition  was  English.  Of  the  five 
hundred  men  on  board  the  Great  Eastern,  there  was 
but  one  American,  and  that  was  Mr.  Field. 

The  engineering  department  was  under  charge  of 
Mr.  Samuel  Canning,  who,  as  the  representative  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       805 

the  Telegraph  Construction  and  Maintenance  Com- 
pany, was  chief  in  command  in  all  matters  relating 
to  laying  the  cable.  For  this  responsible  position 
no  better  man  could  have  been  chosen.  Before  the 
voyage  was  ended,  he  had  ample  opportunity  to  show 
liis  resources.  He  was  ably  seconded  by  Mr.  Henry 
Clifford.  Both  these  gentlemen  had  been  on  board  the 
-Agamemnon  in  the  two  Expeditions  of  1858.  They 
had  since  had  large  experience  in  laying  submarine 
cables  in  the  Mediterranean  and  other  seas.  It  was 
chiefly  by  their  united  skill  that  the  paying-out  ma- 
chinery had  been  brought  to  such  perfection,  that 
throughout  the  voyage  it  worked  without  a  single 
hitch  or  jar.  They  had  an  invaluable  helper  in  Mr. 
Temple. 

The  electrical  department  was  under  charge  of  Mr. 
De  Sauty,  who  had  had  long  experience  in  subma- 
rine telegraphs,  and  who  was  aided  by  an  efficient 
corps  of  assistants.  Professor  Thomson  and  Mr. 
Yarley,  as  we  have  said,  represented  the  Atlantic 
Company.  All  these  gentlemen  had  been  unceasing 
in  their  tests  of  the  cable  in  every  form,  both  while  in 
the  process  of  manufacture  and  after  it  was  coiled  in 
the  Great  Eastern.  The  result  of  their  repeated  tests 
was  to  demonstrate  that  the  cable  was  many  times 
more  perfect  than  had  leen  required.  "With  such  mar- 
vellous delicacy  did  they  test  the  current  of  electricity 


306   HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

sent  through  it,  that  it  was  determined  that  of  one 
thousand  parts,  over  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine 
came  out  at  the  other  end  ! 

To  complete  this  organization  and  equipment  caused 
such  delays  as  excited  the  impatience  of  all  on  board. 
But  at  length,  when  midsummer  had  fully  come — at 
noon  of  Saturday,  July  fifteenth — the  song  of  the  sail- 
ors sounded  the  chant  du  depart.  The  Great  Eastern 
was  then  lying  at  the  Nore,  and  she  seemed  to  cling  to 
the  English  soil  which  she  had  griped  with  a  huge 
Trotman  weighing  seven  tons,  held  fast  by  a  chain 
whereof  every  link  weighed  seventy  pounds  !  To 
wrench  this  ponderous  anchor  from  its  bed  required 
the  united  strength  of  near  two  hundred  men.  At  last 
the  bottom  let  go  its  hold,  the  anchor  swings  to  the 
bow,  the  gun  is  fired,  and  the  voyage  is  begun.  A 
fleet  of  yachts  and  boats  raise  their  cheers  as  the 
mighty  hull  begins  to  move.  But  mark  how  carefully 
she  feels  her  way,  following  the  lead  of  yonder  little 
steamer,  the  Porcupine,  the  same  faithful  guide  that 
seven  years  before  led  the  Niagara  up  Trinity  Bay 
one  night  when  the  faint  light  of  stars  twinkled  on 
all  the  surrounding  hills.  Slowly  they  near  the  sea. 
Now  the  cliffs  of  Dover  are  in  sight,  and  bidding  her 
escort  adieu,  the  Great  Eastern  glides  along  by  the 
beautiful  Isle  of  Wight,  and  then  quickening  her 
speed,  with  a  royal  sweep,  she  moves  down  the  Chan- 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEG11APH.       307 

nel.  Off  Falmouth  slie  picked  up  the  Caroline,  a 
small  steamer,  which  had  left  several  days  before 
with  the  shore  end  on  board.  She  was  laboring 
heavily  with  her  burden,  and  made  little  headway 
in  the  rough  waves.  But  the  Great  Eastern  took  her 
in  tow,  and  she  followed  like  a  ship's  boat  in  the  wake 
of  the  monarch  of  the  seas. 

Thus  they  passed  round  to  the  coast  of  Ireland,  to 
that  Yalentia  Bay  where,  eight  years  before,  the  Earl 
of  Carlisle  gave  his  benediction  on  the  departure  of 
the  Niagara  and  the  Agamemnon,  and  where,  a  year 
later,  the  gallant  English  ship  brought  her  end  of  the 
cable  safely  to  the  shore. 

The  point  of  landing  had  been  changed  from  Ya- 
lentia harbor  five  or  six  miles  to  Foilhommerum  Bay, 
a  wild  spot  where  huge  cliffs  hang  over  the  waves 
that  here  come  rolling  in  from  the  Atlantic.  On  the 
top,  an  old  tower  of  the  time  of  Cromwell  tells  of  the 
bloody  days  of  England's  great  civil  war.  It  is  now 
but  a  mossy  ruin.  Here  the  peasants  who  flocked  in 
from  the  country  pitched  their  booths-  on  the  green 
sward,  and  looked  down  from  the  dizzy  heights  on 
the  boats  dancing  in  the  bay  below.  At  the  foot  of 
the  cliff,  a  soft,  sandy  beach  forms  a  bed  for  the  cable, 
and  here,  as  it  issues  from  the  sea,  it  is  led  up  a  chan- 
nel which  had  been  cut  for  it  in  the  ro.cks. 

As  the  shore  end  was  very  massive  and  unwieldy, 


SOS       HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGKAPH. 

it  could  not  be  laid  except  in  good  weather ;  and  as 
the  sea  was  now  rough,  the  Great  Eastern  withdrew 
to  Bantry  Bay,  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  storms 
which  sometimes  break  with  fury  on  this  rock-bound 
ioast. 

On  Saturday  this  preliminary  worK  was  completed, 
the  heavy  shore  end  was  carried  from  the  deck  of  the 
Caroline  across  a  bridge  of  boats  to  the  beach,  and 
hauled  xip  the  cliffs  amid  the  shouts  of  the  people. 
When  once  it  was  made  fast  to  the  rocks,  the  little 
steamer  began  to  move  and  the  huge  coil  slowly  un- 
wound, and  like  a  giant  awakened,  stretched  out  its 
long  iron  arms.  By  half-past  ten  o'clock  at  night  the 
hold  was  empty,  the  whole  twenty-seven  miles  having 
been  safely  laid,  and  the  end  buoyed  in  seventy -five 
fathoms  water.  A  dispatch  was  at  once  sent  across 
the  country  to  Bantry  Bay  to  the  Great  Eastern  to 
come  around  with  all  speed,  and  early  the  next  morn- 
ing her  smoke  was  seen  in  the  offing.  Passing  the 
harbor  of  Valentia,  she  proceeded  to  join  the  Caro- 
line, which  she  reached  about  noon,  and  at  once  com- 
menced splicing  the  massive  shore  end  to  her  own 
deep-sea  line.  This  was  a  work  of  several  hours,  so 
that  it  was  toward  evening  before  all  was  com- 
pleted. 

Thus,  so  many  had  been  the  delays  of  the  past 
week,  that  it  had  come  on  to  Sunday  before  the 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       309 

Great  Eastern  was  ready  to  begin  her  voyage.  This  — 
which  some  might  count  a  desecration  of  the  holy 
day — the  sailors  rather  accepted  as  a  good  omen. 
Had  the  shore  end  been  laid  forty-eight  hours  sooner, 
the  voyage  might  have  begun  on  Friday,  which  sail- 
ors, who  are  proverbially  superstitious,  would  have 
thought  an  unlucky  beginning.  But  Sunday,  in  their 
esteem,  is  a  good  day.  They  like,  when  a  ship  is 
moving  out  of  sight  of  land,  that  the  last  sound  from 
the  shore  should  be  the  blessed  Sabbath  bells.  If  that 
sacred  chime  were  not  heard  to-day,  at  least  a  Sabbath 
peace  rested  on  sea  and  sky.  It  was  a  calm  summer's 
evening.  The  sun  was  just  sinking  in  the  waves,  as 
the  Great  Eastern,  with  the  two  ships  of  war  which 
waited  on  either  hand,  to  attend  her  royal  progress, 
turned  their  faces  to  the  "West,  and  caught  the  sudden 
glory.  Says  Russell :  "  As  the  sun  set,  a  broad  stream 
of  golden  light  was  thrown  across  the  smooth  billows 
toward  their  bows,  as  if  to  indicate  and  illumine  the 
path  marked  out  by  the  hand  of  heaven."  What  a 
sacred  omen  !  Had  it  been  the  fleet  of  Columbus  sail- 
ing westward,  every  ship's  company  would  have  fallen 
upon  their  knees  on  those  decks,  and  burst  forth  in  an 
Ave  Maria  to  the  gentle  Mistress  of  the  Seas.  We 
trust  in  that  manly  crew  there  was  many  an  eye  that 
took  in  the  full  beauty  of  the  scece,  and  many  a  rever- 
ent heart  that  invoked  a  benediction. 


310   HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

In  other  respects  the  day  was  well  chosen.  It  was 
the  twenty -third  of  July.  From  the  beginning,  Cap 
tain  Anderson  had  wished  to  sail  on  the  twenty-third 
of  June,  or  the  twenty-second  of  July,  so  as  to  catch 
the  full  moon  on  the  American  coast.  He  desired 
also  to  take  advantage  of  the  westerly  winds  which 
prevail  at  that  season,  for  in  going  against  the  wind 
the  Great  Eastern  was  steady  as  a  rock.  Every  ex- 
pectation was  realized.  To  the  Big  Ship  the  ocean 
was  as  an  inland  lake.  The  paying-out  machinery — 
the  product  of  so  much  study  and  skill  —  worked 
"  beautifully,"  and  as  the  ship  increased  her  speed, 
the  cable  glided  into  the  water  with  such  ease  that  it 
seemed  but  a  holiday  affair  to  carry  it  across  to  yonder 
continent.  Such  were  the  reflections  of  all  that  even- 
ing as  the  long  summer  twilight  lingered  on  the  sea. 
At  midnight  they  went  to  sleep,  to  dream  of  an  easy 
triumph. 

Yet  be  not  too  confident.  But  a  few  hours  had 
passed  before  the  booming  of  a  gun  awoke  all  on 
board  with  the  heavy  tidings  of  disaster.  The  morn- 
ing breaks  early  in  those  high  latitudes,  and  by  four 
o'clock  all  \vere  on  deck,  with  anxious  looks  inquiring 
for  the  cause  of  alarm.  The  ship  was  lying  still,  as 
if  her  voyage  had  already  come  to  an  end,  and  electri- 
cians, with  troubled  countenances,  were  passing  in  and 
out  of  the  testing-room,  which,  as  it  was  always  kept 


HISTORY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        31J 

darkened,  looked  like  a  sick-chamber  where  some 
royal  patient  lay  trembling  between  life  and  death. 
The  method  used  by  the  electricians  to  discover  a 
fault  is  one  of  such  delicacy  and  beauty  as  shows  the 
marvellous  perfection  of  the  instruments  which  science 
employs  to  learn  the  secrets  of  nature.  The  galvano- 
meter is  an  invention  of  Professor  Thomson,  by  which 
ua  ray  of  light  reflected  from  a  tiny  mirror  suspended 
to  a  magnet  travels  along  a  scale,  and  indicates  the  re- 
sistance to  the  passage  of  the  current  through  the  cable 
by  the  deflection  of  the  magnet,  which  is  marked  by 
the  course  of  this  speck  of  light.  If  the  light  of  the 
mirror  travels  beyond  the  index,  or  out  of  bounds,  an 
escape  of  the  current  is  taking  place,  and  what  is 
technically  called  a  fault  has  occurred."  Such  was 
the  discovery  on  Monday  morning.  At  a  quarter 
past  three  o'clock  the  electrician  on  duty  saw  the 
light  suddenly  glide  to  the  end  of  the  scale  and  there 
vanish. 

Fortunately  it  was  not  a  fatal  injury.  It  did  not 
prevent  signalling  through  the  cable,  and  a  message 
was  at  once  sent  back  to  the  shore,  giving  notice  of 
the  check  that  had  been  received.  But  the  electric 
current  did  not  flow  freely.  There  was  a  leak  at 
some  point  of  the  line  which  it  would  not  be  prudent 
to  pass  over.  They  were  now  seventy-three  miles 
frem  shore,  having  run  out  eighty-four  miles  of  cable. 


P>12       HISrORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

The  tests  of  the  electricians  indicated  the  fault  to  be 
ten  or  a  dozen  miles  from  the  stern  of  the  ship.  The 
only  safe  course  was  to  go  back  and  get  this  on  board, 
and  cut  out  the  defective  portion.  It  was  a  most  un- 
grateful operation  thus  to  be  undoing  their  own  work, 
but  there  was  no  help  for  it. 

Such  accidents  had  been  anticipated,  and  before 
the  Great  Eastern  left  England,  she  had  been  pro- 
vided with  machinery  to  be  used  in  case  of  neces- 
sity for  "picking  up"  the  cable.  But  this  proved 
rather  an  unwieldy  affair.  It  was  at  the  bow,  and 
as  the  paying-out  machine  was  at  the  stern,  the  ship 
had  to  be  got  round,  and  the  cable,  which  must  first 
be  cut,  had  to  be  transferred  from  one  end  to  the 
other.  This  was  not  an  easy  matter.  The  Great 
Eastern  was  an  eighth  of  a  mile  long,  and  to  carry 
the  cable  along  her  sides  for  this  distance,  and  over 
her  high  wheel-houses,  was  an  operation  at  once 
tedious  and  difficult. 

But  at  length  the  ship's  head  was  brought  round, 
and  the  end  of  the  cable  lifted  over  the  bow,  and 
grasped  by  the  pulling-in  machine,  and  the  engine  be- 
gan to  puff  with  the  labor  of  raising  the  cable  from 
the  depths  of  the  ocean.  Fortunately  they  wero 
only  in  four  or  five  hundred  fathoms  water,  so  thai 
the  strain  was  not  great.  But  the  engine  worked 
poorly,  and  the  operation  was  very  slow.  With 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       313 

the  best  they  could  do,  it  was  impossible  to  raise 
more  than  a  mile  an  hour!  But  patience  and  cour- 
age, though  it  takes  all  day  and  all  night !  *  The 
Great  Eastern  does  her  duty  well,  steaming  slowly 
back  toward  Ireland,  while  the  engine  pulls,  and  the 
cable  comes  up,  though  reluctantly,  from  the  sea,  till 
on  Tuesday  morning  at  seven  o'clock,  when  they 
have  hauled  in  a  little  over  ten  miles,  the  cause  of 
offence  is  brought  on  board.  It  is  found  to  be  a  small 
piece  of  wire,  not  longer  than  a  needle,  that  by  some 
accident  (for  they  did  not  then  suspect  a  design)  had 
been  driven  through  the  outer  cover  of  the  cable  till 
it  touched  the  core.  There  was  the  source  of  all  the 
mischief.  It  was  this  pin's  point  which  pricked  this 
vital  chord,  opening  a  minute  passage  through  which 
the  electricity,  like  a  jet  of  blood  from  a  pierced  ar- 
tery, went  streaming  into  the  sea.  It  was  with  an 
almost  angry  feeling,  as  if  to  punish  it  for  its  intru- 
sion, that  this  insignificant  and  contemptible  source  of 
trouble  was  snatched  from  its  place,  the  wounded  piece 
of  cable  was  cut  off,  and  a  splice  made  and  the  work 

*  "  All  during  the  night  the  process  of  picking  up  was  carefully  car- 
ried on,  the  Big  Ship  behaving  beautifully,  and  hanging  lightly  over  the 
cable,  as  if  fearful  of  breaking  the  slender  cord  which  swayed  up  and 
down  in  the  ocean.  Indeed,  so  delicately  did  she  answer  her  helm,  a»d 
coil  in  the  film  of  thread-like  cable  over  her  bows,  that  she  put  one  in 
mind  of  an  elephant  taking  up  a  straw  in  its  proboscis." — RUSSELL. 


314       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

of  paying  out  renewed.  But  it  was  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  of  Tuesday  before  they  were  ready  to 
resume  the  voyage.  A  full  day  and  a  half  had  been 
lost  by  this  miserable  piece  of  wire. 

But  the  vexatious  delay  is  over  at  last,  and  the 
stately  ship,  once  more  turning  to  the  West,  moves 
ahead  with  a  steady  composure,  as  if  no  petty  trouble 
could  vex  her  tranquil  mind.  Throughout  the  voyage 
the  behavior  of  the  ship  was  the  admiration  of  all  on 
board.  While  her  consorts  on  either  side  were  pitched 
about  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves,  she  moved  forward 
with  a  grave  demeanor,  as  if  conscious  of  her  mission, 
or  as  if  eager  to  unburden  her  mighty  heart,  to  throw 
overboard  the  great  mystery  that  was  coiled  up  within 
her,  and  to  cast  her  burden  on  the  sea. 

The  electricians,  too,  were  elated,  and  with  reason, 
at  the  perfection  of  the  cable  as  demonstrated  by  every 
hour's  experience.  At  intervals  of  thirty  minutes, 
day  and  night,  tests  were  passed  from  ship  to  shore, 
and  to  the  delight  of  all,  instead  of  finding  the  insu- 
lation weakened,  it  steadily  improved  as  the  cable  was 
brought  into  contact  with  the  cold  depths  of  the  At- 
lantic. 

All  now  went  well  till  Saturday,  the  twenty-ninth, 
when  a  little  after  noon  there  was  again  a  cry  from 
the  ship,  as  if  once  more  the  cable  were  wounded  and 
in  pain.  This  time  the  fault  was  more  serious  than 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       315 

before.  The  electricians  looked  very  grave,  for  they 
had  struck  "dead  earth,"  that  is,  the  insulation  was 
completely  destroyed,  and  the  electric  current  was 
escaping  into  the  sea. 

As  the  fault  had  gone  overboard,  it  was  necessary  to 
reverse  their  course,  and  haul  in  till  the  defective  part 
was  brought  up  from  the  bottom.  This  time  it  was 
more  difficult,  for  they  were  in  water  two  miles  deep. 
Still  the  cable  yielded  slowly  to  the  iron  hands  that 
drew  it  upward  ;  and  after  working  all  the  afternoon, 
about  ten  o'clock  at  night  they  got  the  fault  on  board. 
The  wounded  limb  was  at  once  amputated,  and  join- 
ing the  parts  that  were  whole,  the  cable  was  made  new 
and  strong  again.  Thus  ended  a  day  of  anxiety.  The 
next  morning,  which  was  the  second  Sabbath  at  sea, 
was  welcomed  with  a  grateful  feeling  after  the  sus- 
pense of  the  last  twenty-four  hours. 

On  Monday,  the  miles  of  cable  that  had  been  hauled 
up,  and  which  were  lying  in  huge  piles  upon  the  deck, 
were  subjected  to  a  rigid  examination,  to  find  out 
where  the  fault  lay.  This  was  soon  apparent.  Near 
the  end  was  found  a  piece  of  wire  thrust  through  its 
very  heart,  as  if  it  had  been  driven  into  it.  All  looked 
black  when  this  was  discovered,  for  at  once  it  excited 
suspicions  of  design.  It  was  remarked  that  the  same 
gang  of  workmen  were  in  the  tank  as  at  the  time 
of  the  first  fault.  Mr.  Canning  sent  for  the  men, 


316       HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

and  showing  them  the  cable  pierced  through  with 
the  wire,  asked  them  how  it  occurred.  Every  man  re- 
plied that  it  must  have  been  done  ~by  design,  even  though 
they  accused  themselves,  as  this  implied  that  there 
was  a  traitor  among  them.  It  seemed  hard  to  believe 
that  any  one  could  be  guilty  of  such  devilish  malig- 
nity. Yet  such  a  thing  had  been  done  before  in  a 
cable  laid  in  the  North  Sea,  where  the  insulation  was 
destroyed  by  a  nail  driven  into  it.  The  man  was  after- 
ward arrested,  and  confessed  that  he  had  been  hired  to 
do  it  by  a  rival  company.  The  matter  was  the  sub- 
ject of  a  long  investigation  in  the  English  courts.  In 
the  present  case  there  were  many  motives  which  might 
prompt  to  such  an  act.  The  fall  in  the  stock  on  the 
London  Exchange,  caused  by  a  loss  of  the  cable,  could 
hardly  be  less  than  half  a  million  sterling.  Here  was 
a  temptation  such  as  betrays  bold,  bad  men  into  crime. 
However,  as  it  was  impossible  to  fix  the  deed  on  any 
one,  nothing  was  proved,  and  there  only  remained  a 
painful  suspicion  of  treachery.  Against  this  it  was 
their  duty  to  guard.  Therefore  it  was  agreed  that  the 
gentlemen  on  board  should  take  turns  in  keeping 
watch  in  the  tank.  It  was  very  unpleasant  to  Mr. 
Canning  thus  to  set  a  watch  on  men,  many  of  whom 
bad  been  with  him  in  his  former  cable-laying  expedi- 
tions, but  the  best  of  them  admitted  the  necessity  of  it^ 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEQKAPH.       317 

and  were  as  eager  as  himself  to  find  out  the  Judas 
among  them. 

But  accident  or  villainy,  it  was  defeated  this  time, 
and  the  Great  Eastern  proudly  continued  her  voyage. 
Not  the  slightest  check  interrupted  their  progress  for 
the  next  three  days,  during  which  they  passed  over 
five  hundred  ^miles  of  ocean.  It  was  now  they  en- 
joyed their  greatest  triumph.  They  were  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  Atlantic,  and  thus  far  the  voyage  had  been 
a  complete  success.  The  ship  seemed  as  if  made  by 
Heaven  to  accomplish  this  great  work  of  civilization. 
The  paying-out  apparatus  was  a  piece  of  mechanism 
to  excite  the  enthusiasm  of  an  engineer,  so  smoothly 
did  its  well-oiled  wheels  run.  The  strain  never  exceed- 
ed fourteen  hundred- weight,  even  in  the  greatest  depths 
of  the  Atlantic.  And  as  for  the  cable  itself,  it  seemed 
to  come  as  near  perfection  as  it  was  possible  to  attain. 
As  before,  the  insulation  was  greatly  improved  by 
submergence  in  the  ocean.  With  every  lengthening 
league  it  grew  better  and  better.  It  seems  almost  be- 
yond belief,  yet  the  fact  is  fully  attested  that,  when  in 
the  middle  of  the  ocean,  the  communication  was  so 
perfect  that  they  could  tell  at  Yalentia  every  time  the 
Great  Eastern  rolled.*  "With  such  omens  of  suc- 

*  So  exquisitely  sensitive  was  the  copper  strand,  that  as  the  Great 
Eastern  rolled,  and  so  made  the  cable  pass  across  the  magnetic  meri- 
dian, the  induced  current  of  electricity,  incomprehensibly  faint  as  it 


318        HISTORY  OP  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

cess,  who  could  but  feel  confident?  And  when  on 
Monday  they  passed  over  a  deep  valley,  where  lay 
"  the  bones  of  three  Atlantic  cables,"  it  was  with  a 
proud  assurance  that  they  should  not  add  another  to 
the  number. 

But  Wednesday  brought  a  sudden  termination  of 
their  hopes.  They  had  run  out  about  twelve  hundred 
miles  of  cable,  and  were  now  within  six  hundred 
miles  of  Newfoundland.  Two  days  more  would  have 
made  them  safe,  as  it  would  have  brought  them  into 
the  shallow  waters  of  the  coast.  Thus  it  was  when 
least  expected  that  disaster  came.  "We  shall  give  very 
briefly  the  record  of  this  fatal  day.  In  the  morning, 
while  Mr.  Field  was  keeping  watch  in  the  tank,  with 
the  same  gang  of  men  who  had  been  there  when  the 
trouble  occurred  before,  a  grating  sound  was  heard,  as 
if  a  piece  of  wire  had  caught  in  the  machinery,  and 
word  was  passed  up  to  the  deck  to  look  out  for  it ; 
but  the  caution  seems  not  to  have  been  heard,  and  it 
passed  over  the  stern  of  the  ship.  Soon  after  a  report 
came  from  the  testing-room  of  "  another  fault."  It 
was  not  a  bad  one,  since  it  did  not  prevent  communi- 
cation with  land ;  and  much  anxiety  might  have  been 
saved  had  a  message  been  sent  to  Ireland  that  they 

must  have  been,  produced  nevertheless  a  perceptible  deviation  of  the 
ray  of  light  on  the  mirror  galvanometer  at  Foilhommerum. — London 
Times. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       319 

were  about  to  cut  the  cable,  in  order  to  haul  it  on 
board.  But  small  as  the  fault  was,  it  could  not  be  left 
behind.  Down  on  the  deep  sea-floor  was  some  minute 
defect,  a  pin's  point  in  a  length  measured  by  thou- 
sands of  miles.  Yet  that  was  enough.  Of  this  mar- 
vellous product  of  human  skill,  it  might  in  truth  be 
said,  that  it  was  like  the  law  of  God  in  demanding  ab- 
solute perfection.  To  offend  in  one  point  was  to  be 
guilty  of  all. 

This  new  fault,  though .  it  was  annoying,  did  not 
create  alarm,  for  they  had  been  accustomed  to  such 
things,  and  regarded  them  only  as  the  natural  inci- 
dents of  the  voyage.  Had  the  apparatus  for  pulling 
in  been  complete,  it  could  not  have  delayed  them  more 
than  a  few  hours.  But  this  had  been  the  weak  point 
of  the  arrangements  from  the  beginning — the  lete  noire 
of  the  expedition.  The  only  motive  power  was  a  lit- 
tle donkey  engine,  (rightly  named,)  which  puffed  and 
wheezed  as  if  it  had  the  asthma.  This  was  now  put  in 
requisition,  but  soon  gave  out  for  want  of  more  steam. 
While  waiting  for  this  a  breeze  sprang  up,  which 
caused  the  Great  Eastern  to  drift  over  the  cable,  by 
which  it  was  badly  chafed,  so  that  when  it  was  hauled 
in,  as  the  injured  part  was  coming  over  the  bows  and 
was  almost  within  grasp,  suddenly  it  broke  and  plunged 
into  the  sea ! 

Thus  it  came  without  a  moment's  warning.     So  un- 


320       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

expected  was  such  a  catastrophe,  that  the  gentlemen 
had  gone  down  to  lunch,  as  it  was  a  little  past  the 
hour  of  noon.  But  Mr.  Canning  and  Mr.  Field  stood 
watching  the  cable  as  it  was  straining  upward  from 
the  sea,  and  saw  the  snapping  of  that  cord,  which 
broke  so  many  hopes.  The  impression  may  be  better 
imagined  than  described.  Says  a  writer  on  board : 
"  Suddenly  Mr.  Canning  appeared  in  the  saloon,  and 
in  a  manner  which  caused  every  one  to.  start  in  his 
seat,  said,  '  It  is  all  over !  It  is  gone  !'  then .  hastened 
onward  to  his  cabin.  Ere  the  thrill  of  surprise  and 
pain  occasioned  by  these  words  had  passed  away,  Mr, 
Field  came  from  the  companion  into  the  saloon,  and 
said,  with  composure  admirable  under  the  circum- 
stances, though  his  lip  quivered  and  his  cheek  was 
blanched,  '  The  cable  has  parted  and  has  gone  over- 
board.' All  were  on  deck  in  a  moment,  and  there, 
indeed,  a  glance  revealed  the  truth." 

At  last  it  had  come — the  calamity  .which  all  had 
feared,  yet  that  seemed  so  far  away  only  a  few  hours 
before.  Yet  there  it  was — the  ragged  end  on  board, 
torn  and  bleeding,  the  other  lying  far  down  in  its 
ocean  grave. 

Here  in  America,  of  course,  nothing  could  be  known 
of  the  fate  of  the  expedition  till  its  arrival  on  our 
shores.  But  in  England  its  progress  was  reported 
from  day  to  day,  and  as  the  success  up  to  this  point  had 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        321 

raised  the  hopes  of  all  to  the  highest  pitch,  the  sud- 
den loss  of  communication  with  the  ship  was  a  heavy 
blow  to  public  expectation,  and  gave  rise  to  all  sorts 
of  conjectures.  At  first  a  favorite  theory  was,  that 
communication  had  been  interrupted  by  a  magnetic 
storm.  These  are  among  the  most  mysterious  phe- 
nomena of  nature— so  subtle  and  fleeting  as  to  be 
almost  beyond  the  reach  of  science.  No  visible  sign 
do  they  give  of  their  presence.  No  clouds  darken 
the  heavens ;  no  thunder  peals  along  the  sky.  Yet 
strange  influences  trouble  the  air.  At  this  very  hour, 
Professor  Airy,  the  Astronomer  Eoyal  at  the  Observa- 
tory at  Greenwich,  reported  a  magnetic  storm  of  unu- 
sual violence.  Said  a  London  paper:  "Just  when 
the  signals  from  the  Great  Eastern  ceased,  a  magnetic 
storm  of  singular  violence  had  set  in.  Unperceived 
by  us,  not  to  be  seen  in  the  heavens,  nor  felt  in  the 
atmosphere,  the  earth's  electricity  underwent  a  myste- 
rious disturbance.  The  recording  instruments  scat- 
tered about  the  kingdom,  everywhere  testified  to  the 
fury  of  this  voiceless  tempest,  and  there  is  every  rea- 
son to  suppose  that  the  confusion  of  signals  at  midday 
on  Wednesday  was  due  to  the  strange  and  unusual 
earth-currents  of  magnetism,  sweeping  wildly  across 
the  cable  as  it  lay  in  apparently  untroubled  waters  at 
the  bottom  of  the  Atlantic." 

Said  the  Times  :  "  At  Yalentia,  on  Wednesday  last, 


322       HISTORY  OF   THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

the  signals,  up  to  nine  A.M.,  were  coming  with  won- 
derful distinctness  and  regularity,  but  about  that  time 
a  violent  magnetic  storm  set  in.  No  insulation  of  a 
submarine  cable  is  ever  so  perfect  as  to  withstand  the 
influence  of  these  electrical  phenomena,  which  corre- 
spond in  some  particulars  to  storms  in  the  ordinary 
atmosphere,  their  direction  generally  being  from  east 
to  west.  Their  action  is  immediately  communicated 
to  all  conductors  of  electricity,  and  a  struggle  set  up 
between  the  natural  current  and  that  used  artificially 
in  sending  messages.  This  magnetic  storm  affected 
every  telegraphic  station  in  the  kingdom.  At  some 
the  wires  were  utterly  useless ;  and  between  Yalentia 
and  Killarney  the  natural  current  toward  the  west  was 
so  strong  along  the  land  lines  that  it  required  an  addi- 
tion of  five  times  the  ordinary  battery  power  to  over- 
come it.  This  magnetic  storm,  which  ceased  at  two 
A.M.  on  Friday,  was  instantly  perceptible  in  the  Atlan- 
tic cable*" 

But  these  explanations,  so  consoling  to  anxious 
friends  on  land,  did  not  comfort  those  on  board  the 
Great  Eastern.  They  knew,  alas !  that  the  cable  was 
at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  and  the  only  question  was, 
if  any  thing  could  be  done  to  recover  it. 

Now  began  a  work  of  which  there  had  been  no  ex- 
ample in  the  annals  of  the  sea.  The  intrepid  Canning 
declared  his  purpose  to  grapple  for  the  cable !  The 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       323 

proposal  seemed  wild,  dictated  by  the  frenzy  of  de- 
spair. Yet  he  had  fished  in  deep  waters  before.  He 
had  laid  his  hand  on  the  bottom  of  the  Mediterranean, 
but  that  was  a  shallow  lake  compared  with  the  depths 
into  which  the  Atlantic  cable  had  descended.  The 
ocean  is  here  two  and  a  half  miles  deep.  It  was  as  ii 
an  Alpine  hunter  stood  on  the  summit  of  Mont  Blanc 
and  cast  a  line  into  the  vale  of  Chamouni.  Yet  who 
shall  put  bounds  to  human  courage  ?  The  expedition 
was  not  to  be  abandoned  without  a  trial  of  this  forlorn 
hope.  There  were  on  board  some  five  miles  of  wire 
rope,  intended  to  hold  the  cable  in  case  it  became  ne- 
cessary to  cut  it  and  lash  it  to  the  buoys,  to  save  it 
from  being  lost  in  a  storm.  This  was  brought  on 
deck  for  another  purpose.  "  And  now  came  forth  the 
grapnels,  two  five-armed  anchors,  with  flukes  sharply 
curved  and  tapered  to  a  tooth-like  end — the  hooks 
with  which  the  Giant  Despair  was  going  to  fish  from 
the  Great  Eastern  for  a  take  worth,  with  all  its  be- 
longings, more  than  a  million."  These  huge  grappling- 
irons  were  firmly  shackled  to  the  end  of  the  rope,  and 
brought  to  the  bows  and  thrown  overboard.  One 
splash,  and  the  whole  has  disappeared  in  the  bosom 
of  the  ocean.  Down  it  goes — deeper,  deeper,  deeper 
still.  For  two  full  hours  it  continued  sinking  before 
it  struck  the  earth,  and  like  a  pearl-diver,  began  search- 
ing for  its  lost  treasure  on  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 


324       HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGKAPH. 

What  did  it  find  there  ?  The  wrecks  of  ships  that 
had  gone  down  a  hundred  years  ago,  with  dead  men's 
bones  whitening  in  the  deep  sea  caves?  It  sought  for 
something  more  precious  to  the  interest  of  civilization 
than  gems  and  gold. 

The  ship  was  now  a  dozen  miles  or  so  from  the 
place  of  accident.  The  cable  had  broken  a  little  after 
noon,  when  the  sun  was  shining  clear,  so  that  Captains 
Anderson  and  Moriarty  had  just  obtained  a  perfect 
observation,  from  which  they  could  tell,  within  half  a 
mile,  the  very  spot  where  it  had  gone  down.  To  reach 
it  now,  with  any  chance  of  bringing  it  up,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  hook  it  a  few  miles  from  the  end.  It  had 
been  paid  out  in  a  line  from  east  to  west.  To  strike 
it  broadside,  the  ship  stood  off  in  the  afternoon  a  few 
miles  to  the  south.  Here  the  grapnel  was  thrown 
over  about  three  o'clock,  and  struck  bottom  about 
five,  when  the  ship  began  slowly  drifting  back  on  her 
course.  All  night  long  those  iron  fingers  were  raking 
the  bottom  of  the  deep  but  grasping  nothing,  till  to- 
ward morning  the  long  rope  quivered  like  a  fisher- 
man's line  when  something  has  seized  the  end,  and 
the  head  of  the  Great  Eastern  began  to  sway  from  her 
course,  as  if  it  felt  some  unseen  attraction.  As  they 
begin  to  haul  in,  the  rapidly  increasing  strain  soon 
renders  it  certain  that  they  have  got  hold  of  something. 
But  what  can  it  be  ?  How  do  they  know  it  is  their 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       325 

lost  cable  ?  This  question  has  often  been  asked  since. 
They  did  not  see  it.  How  do  they  know  that  it  was 
not  the  skeleton  of  a  whale,  or  a  mast  or  spar,  the 
fragment  of  a  wrecked  snip  ?  This  question  is  easily 
answered.  If  it  had  been  any  loose  object  which  was 
being  drawn  up  from  the  sea,  its  weight  would  have 
diminished  as  it  came  nearer  the  surface.  But  on  the 
contrary,  the  strain,  as  shown  by  the  dynamometer, 
steadily  increased.  This  could  only  be  from  some 
object  lying  prone  on  the  bottom.  To  an  engineer 
the  proof  is  like  a  mathematical  demonstration. 

Having  then  caught  the  cable,  they  had  good  hopes 
of  getting  it  again,  their  confidence  increasing  with 
every  hundred  fathoms  brought  on  board.  For  hours 
the  work  went  on.  They  had  raised  it  seven  hundred 
fathoms — or  three  quarters  of  a  mile — from  the  bottom, 
when  an  iron  swivel  gave  way,  and  the  cable  once 
more  fell  back  into  the  sea,  carrying  with  it  nearly 
two  miles  of  rope. 

The  first  attempt  had  failed,  but  the  fact  that  they 
had  unmistakably  caught  the  prize  gave  them  courage 
for  a  second.  Preparations  were  at  once  begun,  but 
fogs  came  on  and  delayed  the  attempt  till  Monday, 
when  it  was  repeated.  This  time  the  grapnel  caught 
again.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  it  got  its 
hold,  and  the  work  of  pulling  in  was  kept  up  all  night. 
But  as  the  sea  was  calm  and  the  moon  shining  brightly, 


326        HISTORY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH. 

all  joined  in  it  with  spirit,  feeling  elated  with  the  hope 
of  triumph  on  the  morrow. 

That  was  not  to  be ;  but  each  attempt  seemed  to 
come  nearer  and  nearer  to  victory.  This  time  the 
cable  was  drawn  up  a  full  mile  from  the  bottom,  and 
hung  suspended  a  mile  and  a  half  below  the  ship. 
Had  the  rope  been  strong  enough,  it  might  have  been 
brought  on  board.  But  again  a  swivel  gave  way,  and 
the  cable,  whose  sleep  had  been  a  second  time  dis- 
turbed, sought  its  ocean  bed. 

These  experiments  were  fast  using  up  the  wire  rope, 
and  every  expedient  had  to  be  resorted  to,  to  piece  it  out 
and  to  give  it  strength.  Each  shackle  and  swivel  was 
replaced  by  new  bolts,  and  the  capstan  was  increased 
four  feet  in  diameter,  by  being  belted  with  enormous 
plates  of  iron,  to  wind  the  rope  around  it,  if  the  pick- 
ing up  machinery  should  fail.  This  gave  full  work  to 
all  the  mechanics  on  board.  The  ship  was  turned 
into  a  very  cave  of  Yulcan,  presenting  at  night  a  scene 
which  might  well  take  the  eye  of  an  artist,  and  which 
Eussell  thus  describes : 

"  The  forge  fires  glared  on  her  decks,  and  there,  out 
in  the  midst  of  the  Atlantic,  anvils  rang  and  sparks 
flew ;  and  the  spectator  thought  of  some  village  far 
away,  where  the  blacksmith  worked,  unvexed  by 
cable  anxieties  and  greed  of  speedy  news.  As  the 
blaze  shot  up,  ruddy,  mellow  and  strong,  and  flung 


HISTORT   OF   THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       327 

arms  of  light  aloft  and  along  the  glistening  decks,  and 
then  died  into  a  red  centre,  masts,  spars,  and  ropes 
were  for  the  instant  touched  with  a  golden  gleaming, 
and  strange  figures  and  faces  were  called  out  from  the 
darkness — vanished,  glinted  out  again — rushed  sud- 
denly into  foreground  of  bright  pictures,  which  faded 
soon  away — flickered — went  out — as  they  were  called 
to  life  by  its  warm  breath,  or  were  buried  in  the  outer 
darkness  !  Outside  all  was  obscurity,  but  now  and 
then  vast  shadows,  which  moved  across  the  arc  of  the 
lighted  fog-bank,  were  projected  far  away  by  the  flare; 
and  one  might  well  pardon  the  passing  mariner,  whose 
bark  drifted  him  in  the  night  across  the  track  of  the 
great  ship,  if,  crossing  himself,  and  praying  with  shud- 
dering lips,  he  fancied  he  beheld  a  phantom  ship 
freighted  with  an  evil  crew,  and  ever  after  told  how 
he  had  seen  the  workshops  of  the  Inferno  floating  on 
the  bosom  of  the  ocean." 

"While  preparing  for  a  third  attempt,  the  ship  had 
been  drifting  about,  sometimes  to  a  distance  of  thirty 
or  forty  miles,  but  it  had  marked  the  course  where  the 
cable  lay  by  two  buoys  thrown  over  about  ten  miles 
apart,  each  bearing  a  flag  which  might  be  seen*  at  a 
distance,  and  so  easily  came  back  to  the  spot.  On 
Thursday  morning  all  was  ready,  and  the  line  was  cast 
as  before,  but  after  some  hours' of  drifting,  it  was  evi- 
dent that  the  ship  had  passed  over  the  cable  with- 


328       HISTORY  OP  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

out  grappling.  The  line  was  hauled  in,  and  the  rea- 
son at  once  appeared.  One  of  the  flukes  had  caught 
in  the  chain,  so  that  it  could  not  strike  its  teeth  into 
the  bottom.  This  was  cleared  away,  and  the  rope 
prepared  for  a  fourth  and  final  attempt. 

It  was  at  noon  of  Friday  that  the  grapnel  went 
overboard  for  the  last  time.  By  four  o'clock  it  had 
caught,  and  the  work  of  hauling  in  recommenced. 
Again  the  cable  was  brought  up  nearly  eight  hundred 
fathoms,  when  the  rope  broke,  carrying  down  two 
miles  of  its  own  length,  and  with  it  the  hopes  of  the 
Atlantic  Telegraph  for  the  present  year. 

Their  resources  were  exhausted.  For  nine  days  had 
that  heroic  crew  persevered  in  their  attempt.  Or 
rather  (for  they  scarce  took  note  of  day  or  night  in 
the  excitement  of  that  long  struggle)  we  might  say, 

Nine  times  the  space 

That  measures  day  and  night  to  mortal  men, 

they  kept  up  the  contest.  There  is  something  grand 
though  sad  in  the  spectacle  of  this  noble  ship  thus  lin- 
gering in  mid-ocean,  moving  round  and  round  one 
fatal  spot,  with  her  great  eye  fixed  on  the  place  where 
her  treasure  is  gone  down,  and  vainly  striving  to  wrest 
it  from  the  hand  of  the  spoiler. 

Baffled  they  were,  yet  they  had  not  toiled  in  vain. 
They  had  shown  what  the  power  of  man  can  do,  that 


HISTOKY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH,       329 

henceforth  it  was  not  to  be  bounded  by  any  thing  on 
the  solid  earth,  or  in  the  waters  under  the  earth.  Three 
times  they  had  grasped  the  prize,  and  each  time  failed 
to  recover  it,  only  for  want  of  ropes  strong  enough  to 
bring  it  on  board.  The  cable  never  broke.  Herein  it 
proved  its  strength,  and  gave  good  omen  for  future 
success. 

But  for  the  present  all  was  over.  The  attempt  must 
be  abandoned  for  the  year  1865,  but  not  for  ever  /  and 
with  this  purpose  in  her  "  constant  mind,"  the  Great 
Eastern  swung  sullenly  around,  and  turned  her  impe- 
rial head  toward  England,  like  a  warrior  retiring  from 
the  field — not  victorious,  nor  yet  defeated  and  despair- 
ing, but  with  her  battle-flag  still  flying,  and  resolved 
once  more  to  attempt  the  conquest  of  the  sea 


CHAPTEK  XV. 

RESULT  OF  THE  EXPEDITION  OF  1865.  CONFIDENCE  STRONGER  THAN  EYER. 
INSTANT  RESOLVE  TO  RAISE  THE  BROKEN  END  OF  THE  CABLE,  TO  COM- 
PLETE IT  TO  NEWFOUNDLAND,  AND  TO  LAY  ANOTHER  LINE.  NEW  SHARES 
ISSUED.  METHOD  DECLARED  UNAUTHORIZED  BY  LAW.  FORMATION  OF 
THE  ANGLO-AMERICAN  TELEGRAPH  COMPANY.  CAPITAL  RAISED.  NEW 
CABLE  MADE  AND  SHIPPED  ON  BOARD  THE  GREAT  EASTERN. 

THE  expedition  of  1865,  though  not  an  immediate 
success,  yet  had  the  moral  effect  of  a  victory,  as  it 
confirmed  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  all  who 
embarked  in  it.  The  great  experiment  made  during 
those  four  weeks  at  sea,  had  demonstrated  many 
points  which  were  most  important  elements  in  the 
problem  of  Ocean  Telegraphy.  These  are  summed 
up  in  the  following  paper,  which  was  signed  by  per- 
sons officially  engaged  on  board  the  Great  Eastern : 

1.  It  was  proved  by  the  expedition  of  1858,  that  a 
Submarine  Telegraph  Cable  could  be  laid  between 
Ireland  and  Newfoundland,  and  messages  transmitted 
through  the  same. 

By  the  expedition  of  1865  it  has  been  fully  demon- 
strated : 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       331 

2.  That  the  insulation  of  a  cable  improves  very 
much  after  its  submersion  in  the  cold  deep  water  of 
the  Atlantic,  and  that  its  conducting  power  is  consid- 
erably increased  thereby. 

3.  That  the  steamship  Great  Eastern,  from  her  size 
and  constant  steadiness,  and  from  the  control  over  her 
afforded  by  the  joint  use  of  paddles  and  screw,  ren- 
ders it  safe  to  lay  an  Atlantic  Cable  in  any  weather. 

4.  That  in  a  depth,  of  over  two  miles  four  attempts 
were  made  to  grapple  the  cable.     In  three  of  them  the 
cable  was  caught  by  the  grapnel,  and  in  the  other  the 
grapnel  was  fouled  by  the  chain  attached  to  it. 

5.  That  the  paying-out  machinery  used  on  board 
the  Great  Eastern  worked  perfectly,  and  can  be  confi- 
dently relied  on  for  laying  cables  across  the  Atlantic. 

6.  That  with  the  improved  Telegraphic  instruments 
for  long  submarine  lines,  a  speed  of  more  than  eight 
words  per  minute  can  be  obtained  through  such  a 
cable   as  the  present  Atlantic   between  Ireland,  and 
Newfoundland,  as  the  amount  of  slack  actually  paid 
out  did  not  exceed  fourteen  per  cent,  which  would 
have  made  the  total  cable  laid  between  Yalentia  and 
Heart's  Content  nineteen  hundred  miles. 

Y.  That  the  present  Atlantic  Cable,  though  capable 


332       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

of  bearing  a  strain  of  seven  tons,  did  not  experience 
more  than  fourteen  hundred- weight  in  being  paid  out 
into  the  deepest  water  of  the  Atlantic  between  Ireland 
and  Newfoundland. 

8.  That  there  is  no  difficulty  in  mooring  buoys  in 
the  deep  water  of  the  Atlantic  between  Ireland  and 
Newfoundland,  and  that  two  buoys  even  when  moor- 
ed by  a  piece  of  the  Atlantic  Cable  itself,  which  had 
been  previously  lifted  from  the  bottom,  have  ridden 
out  a  gale. 

9.  That  more  than  four  nautical  miles  of  the  Atlan- 
tic Cable  have  been  recovered  from  a  depth  of  over 
two  miles,  and  that  the  insulation  of  the  gutta-percha 
covered  wire  was  in  no  way  whatever  impaired  by  the 
depth  of  water  or  the  strains  to  which  it  had  been  sub- 
jected by  lifting  and  passing  through  the  hauling-in 
apparatus. 

10.  That  the  cable  of  1865,  owing  to  the  improve- 
ments introduced  into  the  manufacture  of  the  gutta- 
percha  core,  was  more  than  one  hundred  times  better 
insulated  than  cables  made  in  1858,  then  considered 
perfect  and  still  working. 

11.  That  the   electrical   testing  can   be   conducted 
with  such  unerring  accuracy  as  to  enable  the  electri- 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       333 

cians  to  discover  the  existence  of  a  fault  immediately 
after  its  production  or  development,  and  very  quickly 
to  ascertain  its  position  in  the  cable. 

12.  That  with  a  steam-engine  attached  to  the  pay- 
mg-out  machinery,  should  a  fault  be  discovered  on 
board  whilst  laying  the  cable,  it  is  possible  that  it 
might  be  recovered  before  it  had  reached  the  bottom 
of  the  Atlantic,  and  repaired  at  once. 

S.  CANNING,  Engineer-in-Chief,  Telegraph  Construc- 
tion and  Maintenance  Company. 

JAMES  ANDERSON,  Commander  of  the  Great  Eastern. 

HENRY  A.  MORIARTY,  Staff  Commander,  R.  N. 

DANIEL  GOOCH,  M.P.,  Chairman  of  "  Great  Ship  Co." 

HENRY  CLIFFORD,  Engineer. 

WILLIAM  THOMSON,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  Prof,  of  Natural 
Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Glasgow. 

CROMWELL  F.  YARLEY,  Consulting  Electrician  Electric 
and  International  Telegraph  Co. 

WlLLOUGHBY    SMITH. 

JULES  DESPECHER. 

This  was  a  grand  result  to  be  attained  in  one  short 
month ;  and  if  not  quite  so  gratifying  as  to  have  the 
cable  laid  at  once,  and  the  wire  in  full  operation,  yet 
as  it  settled  the  chief  elements  of  success,  we  say  that 
in  its  moral  influence  it  had  the  inspiring  effect  of  a 
victory.  All  who  were  on  that  voyage  felt  a  confi- 
dence such  as  they  had  never  felt  before.  They  came 


331       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

back,  not  desponding  and  discouraged,  but  buoyant 
with  hope,  and  ready  at  once  to  renew  the  attempt. 

This  confidence  appeared  at  the  first  meeting  of  di 
rectors.  The  feeling  was  very  different  from  that 
after  the  return  of  the  first  expedition  of  1858.  So 
animated  were  they  with  hope,  and  so  sure  of  suc- 
cess the  next  time,  that  all  felt  that  one  cable  was  not 
enough,  they  must  have  two,  and  so  it  was  decided 
to  take  measures  not  only  to  raise  the  broken  end  of 
the  cable  and  to  complete  it  to  Newfoundland,  but 
also  to  construct  and  lay  an  entirely  new  one,  so  as  to 
have  a  double  line  in  operation  the  following  summer. 

The  contractors,  partaking  the  general  confidence, 
came  forward  promptly  with  a  new  offer  even  more 
liberal  than  that  made  before.  They  proposed  to  con- 
struct a  new  line,  and  to  lay  it  across  the  Atlantic  for 
half  a  million  sterling,  which  was  estimated  to  be  the 
actual  cost  to  them,  reserving  all  compensation  to 
themselves  to  depend  on  success.  If  successful,  they 
were  to  receive  twenty  per  cent  on  the  cost,  or  one 
hundred  thousand  pounds,  to  be  paid  in  shares  of  the 
Company.  They  would  engage,  also,  to  go  to  sea 
fully  prepared  to  raise  the  broken  end  of  the  cable 
now  in  mid-ocean,  and  with  a  sufficient  length,  includ- 
ing that  on  board  the  Great  Eastern,  to  complete  the 
line  to  Newfoundland.  Thus  the  Company  would 
have  two  cables  instead  of  one. 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGilAPH.       335 

In  this  offer  the  contractors  assumed  a  very  large 
risk.  They  now  went  a  step  further,  and  in  the 
contingency  of  the  capital  not  being  raised  other- 
wise, they  offered  to  take  it  all  themselves — to  lay 
the  line  at  their  own  risk,  and  to  be  paid  only  in  the 
stock  of  the  Company,  which,  of  course,  must  depend 
for  its  value  on  the  success  of  the  next  expedition. 
It  was  finally  resolved  to  raise  six  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  new  capital  by  the  issue  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  shares  of  five  pounds  each,  which 
should  be  preferential  shares,  entitled  to  a  dividend  of 
twelve  per  cent  before  the  eight  per  cent  dividend  to 
be  paid  on  the  former  preference  shares,  and  the  four 
per  cent  on  the  ordinary  stock.  This  was  offering  a 
substantial  inducement  to  the  public  to  take  part  in 
the  enterprise,  and  it  was  thought  with  reason  that 
this  fresh  issue  of  stock,  though  it  increased  the  capi- 
tal of  the  Company,  yet  as  it  was  all  to  be  employed 
in  forwarding  the  great  work,  would  not  only  create 
new  property,  but  give  value  to  the  old.  The  pro- 
posal of  the  manufacturers  was  therefore  at  once 
accepted  by  the  Directors,  and  the  work  was  in- 
stantly begun.  Thus  hopeful  was  the  state  of  affairs 
when  Mr.  Field  returned  to  America  in  September. 

But  he  was  never  easy  to  be  long  out  of  sight  of  his 
beloved  cable,  and  so  three  months  after  he  went  back 
to  England,  reaching  London  on  the  twenty-fourth 


836       HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH. 

of  December.  He  came  at  just  the  right  moment,  foi 
the  Atlantic  Telegraph  was  once  more  in  extremity 
Only  two  days  before  the  Attorney-General  of  Eng 
land  had  given  a  written  opinion  that  the  Company 
had  no  legal  right  to  issue  new  twelve  per  cent  prefer- 
ence shares,  and  that  such  issue  could  only  be  author- 
ized by  an  express  act  of  Parliament.  This  was  a 
fatal  decree  to  the  Company.  It  was  the  more  unex 
pected,  as,  before  offering  the  twelve  per  cent  capita7, 
they  had  been  fortified  by  the  opinions  of  several 
eminent  lawyers  and  solicitors  in  favor  of  the  legali.ty 
of  their  proceedings.  It  invalidated  not  only  what 
they  were  going  to  do,  but  what  they  had  done 
already.  Hence,  as  the  effect  of  this  decision,  all  the 
works  were  stopped,  and  the  money  which  had  been 
paid  in  was  returned  to  the  subscribers. 

This  was  a  new  dilemma,  out  of  which  it  was  not 
easy  to  find  a  way  of  relief  Parliament  was  not  in 
session,  Lords  and  Commons  being  away  in  the  coun- 
try keeping  the  Christmas  holidays.  Even  if  it  had 
been,  the  time  for  applying  to  it  had  passed,  as  a  no- 
tice of  any  private  bill  to  be  introduced  must  be  given 
before  the  thirtieth  of  November,  which  was  gone  a 
month  ago.  To  wait  for  an  act  of  Parliament,  there- 
fore, would  inevitably  postpone  the  laying  of  the 
cable  for  another  year.  So  disheartening  was  the 
prospect  at  the  close  of  1865. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       337 

But  they  had  seen  dark  days  before,  and  were  not 
to  give  it  up  without  a  new  effort.  Happily,  the  cause 
had  strong  friends  to  stand  by  it  even  in  this  crisis  of 
suspended  animation. 

One  of  these  to  whom  Mr.  Field  now  went  for  coun- 
sel, was  Mr.  Daniel  Gooch,  M.P.,  a  gentleman  well 
known  in  London,  as  one  of  that  class  of  engineers 
formed  in  the  school  of  Stephenson  and  Brunei,  who 
have  risen  to  the  position  of  great  capitalists,  and  who, 
by  their  enterprise  and  wealth,  have  done  so  much  to 
develop  the  resources  of  England.  He  was  Chairman 
of  the  Great  Western  Eailway.  His  connection  with 
the  Atlantic  Telegraph  was  somewhat  curious.  Until 
lately  he  had  not  full  confidence  in  its  success. 
Though  a  man  of  large  fortune,  and  a  personal  friend 
of  Mr.  Field,  the  latter  had  never  prevailed  on  him  to 
subscribe  a  single  pound.  But  he  went  out  on  the 
expedition  of  '65,  as  chairman  of  the  company  that 
owned  the  Great  Eastern  ;  and  what  he  then  saw 
convinced  him.  He  came  back  fully  satisfied ;  he 
knew  it  could  be  done,  and  was  ready  to  prove  his 
faith  by  his  works.  Consulting  on  the  present  diffi- 
culty, he  suggested  that  the  only  relief  was  to  organize 
a  new  Company,  which  should  assume  the  work,  and 
which  could  issue  its  own  shares  and  raise  its  own 
capital.  This  opinion  was  confirmed  by  that  emi- 
nent legal  authority,  Mr.  John  Horatio  Lloyd.  To 


838        HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

such  a  Company  Mr.  Gooch  said  he  would  subscribe 
£20,000 ;  Mr.  Field  put  down  £10,000. 

Next,  he  betook  himself  to  that  prince  of  English 
capitalists,  Mr.  Thomas  Brassej,  who  heard  from  his 
lips  for  the  first  time,  that  the  affairs  of  the  Atlantic 
Telegraph  Company  had  suddenly  come  to  a  stand- 
still. At  this  he  was  much  surprised,  but  instantly 
cheered  his  informer  by  saying:  "Mr.  Field,  don't  be 
discouraged  ;  go  down  to  the  Company,  and  tell  them 
to  go  ahead,  and  whatever  the  cost,  I  will  bear  one 
tenth  of  the  whole."  "Who  could  be  discouraged  with 
such  .a  Eichard  the  Lion-hearted  to  cheer  him  on  ? 

Meetings  were  called  of  the  Directors  of  both  the 
Atlantic  Company  and  the  Telegraph  Construction  and 
Maintenance  Company  ;  and  frequent  conferences  were 
held  between  them.  The  result  was  the  formation  of 
a  new  company  called  the  ANGLO-AMERICAN  TELE- 
GRAPH COMPANY,  with  a  capital  of  £600,000,  which 
contracted  with  the  Atlantic  Company  to  manufac- 
ture and  lay  down  a  cable  in  the  summer  of  1866, 
for  doing  which  it  is  to  be  entitled  to  what  virtually 
amounts  to  a  preference  dividend  of  twenty -five  per 
cent :  as  a  first  claim  is  secured,  to  them  by  the  At- 
lantic Telegraph  Company  upon  the  revenue  of  the 
cable  or  cables  (after  the  working  expenses  have  been 
provided  for)  to  the  extent  of  £125,000  per  annum  ; 
and  the  New- York,  Newfoundland,  and  London  Tele* 


HISTOHY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       339 

graph  Company  undertake  to  contribute  from  their 
revenue  a  farther  annual  sum  of  £25,000,  on  condition 
that  a  -cable  shall  be  at  work  during  1866 ;  an 
agreement  to  this  effect  having  been  signed  by  Mr. 
Field,  subject  to  ratification  by  the  Company  in  New- 
York,  which  was  obtained  as  soon  as  the  steamer 
could  cross  the  ocean  and  bring  back  the  reply. 

The  terms  being  settled,  it  remained  only  to  raise 
the  capital.  The  Telegraph  Construction  and  Main- 
tenance Company  led  off  with  a  subscription  of 
£100,000.  This  was  followed  by  the  names  of  ten 
gentlemen,  who  put  down  £10,000  apiece.  Of  these 
Mr.  Gooch  declared  his  willingness  to  increase  his  to 
£20,000,  and  Mr.  Brassey  to  £60,000,  if  it  were 
needed.  Mr.  Henry  Bewley,  of  Dublin  also,  who  was. 
already  a  very  large  owner  of  the  Atlantic  stock,  de- 
clared his  readiness  to  put  down  £20,000  more.  But 
it  was  not  found  to  be  necessary.  And  so  they  all 
stood  at  £10,000.  The  names  of  these  ten  subscribers 
deserve  to  be  given,  as  showing  who  stood  forward  to 
save  the  cause  in  this  crisis  of  its  fate.  They  were  as 
follows : 

Henry  Ford  Barclay,  Henry  Bewley,  Thomas  Bras- 
sey, A.  II.  Campbell,  M.P.,  George  Elliot,  Cyrus  W. 
Field,  Kichard  Atwood  Glass,  Daniel  Gooch,  M.P., 
John  Fender,  M.P.,  and  John  Smith,  Esqs.  There 
were  four  subscriptions  of  £5000,  namely,  Thomas 


340       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGIIAPH. 

Bolton  and  Sons,  James  Horsfall,  Esq.,  A  Friend  of 
Mr.  Daniel  Gooch,  M.P.,  and  John  and  Edwin  "Wright ; 
one  of  £2500  by  John  Wilkes  and  Sons ;  three  of 
£2000  by  C.  M.  Lampson,  J.  Morison,  and  Ebenezer 
Pike,  Esqs. ;  and  two  of  £1000  by  Edward  Cropper, 
and  Joseph  Kobinson,  Esqs. — making  in  all  £230,500. 

These  were  all  private  subscriptions  made  before 
even  the  prospectus  was  issued,  or  the  books  opened 
to  the  public.  After  such  a  manifestation  of  confi- 
dence, we  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  the  whole 
of  the  capital  required  to  proceed  with  the  cable  was 
secured  within  fourteen  days.  This  was  a  great  tri- 
umph to  be  obtained,  especially  at  a  time  of  general 
depression  in  commercial  affairs  in  England. 

And  now  once  more  the  work  begins.  No  time  is 
to  be  lost  It  is  already  the  first  of  March,  and  but 
four  months  remain  to  manufacture  sixteen  hundred 
and  sixty  nautical  miles  of  cable,  and  to  prepare  for 
sea.  But  the  obstacles  once  cleared  away,  all  sprang 
to  their  work  with  new  hope  and  vigor. 

In  the  cable  to  be  made  for  the  new  line,  there  was 
but  little  change  from  that  of  the  last  year,  which  had 
proved  nearly  perfect.  Science,  however,  aided  by 
experience,  was  constantly  devising  some  improve- 
ment. So  now,  while  the  general  form  and  size  were 
retained,  a  slight  change  in  the  outer  covering  was 
found  to  make  the  cable  t>oth  lighter  and  stronger. 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       341 

The  iron  wires  were  galvanized,  which  secured  them 
perfectly  from  rust  or  corrosion  by  salt  water.  Thus 
protected,  they  could  dispense  with  the  preservative 
mixture  of  the  former  year.  This  left  the  cable  much 
cleaner  and  whiter.  Instead  of  its  black  coat,  it  had 
the  fresh,  bright  appearance  of  new  rope.  It  had  an- 
other advantage.  As  the  tarry  coating  was  sticky, 
slight  fragments  of  wire  might  adhere  to  it,  and  do  in- 
jury, a  danger  to  which  the  new  cable  was  not  ex- 
posed. At  the  same  time,  galvanizing  the  wires  gave 
them  greater  ductility,  so  that  in  the  case  of  a  heavy 
strain  the  cable  would  stretch  longer  without  breaking. 
By  this  alteration  it  was  rendered  more  than  four  hun- 
dred-weight lighter  per  mile,  and  would  bear  a  strain 
of  nearly  half  a  ton  more  than  the  one  laid  the  year 
before. 

The  machinery  also  was  perfected  in  every  part, 
to  withstand  the  great  strain  which  might  be  brought 
upon  it  in  grappling  and  lifting  the  cable  from  the 
great  depths  of  the  Atlantic.  This  necessitated  al- 
most a  reconstruction  of  the  machinery,  together  with 
engines  of  greater  power,  applied  both  to  the  gear  for 
hauling  in  forward  and  that  for  paying  out  aft.  Thus, 
in  case  of  a  fault,  the  motion  of  the  ship  could  bo 
easily  reversed,  and  the  cable  hauled  back  by  the  pay- 
ing-out machinery,  without  waiting  for  the  long  and 
tedious  process  of  bringing  the  cable  round  from  the 
stern  to  the  bow  of  the  ship. 


342       HISTOKY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH. 

But  the  most  marvellous  improvement  had  been  iu 
the  method  of  testing  the  cable  for  the  discovery  of 
faults.  In  the  last  expedition,  a  grave  omission  had 
been  in  the  long  intervals  during  which  the  cable 
was  left  without  a  test  of  its  insulation.  Thus,  from 
thirty  to  thirty-five  minutes  in  each  hour  it  was  occu- 
pied with  tests  of  minor  importance,  which  would  not 
indicate  the  existence  of  a  fault.  Hence,  if  a  fault 
occurred  on  ship-board,  it  might  pass  over  the  stern, 
and  be  miles  away  before  it  was  discovered.  But 
now  a  new  and  ingenious  method  was  devised  by 
Mr.  Willoughby  Smith,  by  which  the  cable  will  be 
tested  every  instant.  The  current  will  not  cease  to 
flow  any  more  than  the  blood  ceases  to  flow  in  hu- 
man veins.  The  chord  is  vital  in  every  part,  and  if 
touched  at  any  point  it  reveals  the  wound  as  instinct- 
ively as  the  nerves  of  a  living  man  flash  to  the 
brain  a  wound  in  any  part  of  the  human  frame. 

The  process  of  detecting  faults  is  too  scientific  to  be 
detailed  in  these  pages.  We  can  only  stand  in  silent 
wonder  at  the  result,  when  we  hear  it  stated  by  Mr. 
Yarley,  that  the  system  of  testing  is  brought  to  such 
a  degree  of  perfection,  that  skilful  electricians  can 
point  out  minute  faults  with  an  unerring  accuracy 
"  even  when  they  are  so  small  that  they  would  not 
weaken  the  signals  through  the  Atlantic  cable  one 
millionth  part!" 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       343 

Another  marvellous  result  of  science  was  the  exact 
report  obtained  of  the  state  of  that  portion  of  the  cable 
now  lying  in  the  sea.  The  electricians  at  Valentia 
were  daily  experimenting  on  the  line  which  lay 
stretched  twelve  hundred  and  thirteen  miles  on  the 
bottom  of  the  deep,  and  pronounced  it  intact.  Not  a 
fault  could  be  found  from  one  end  to  the  other.  As 
when  a  master  of  the  organ  runs  his  hands  over  the 
keys,  and  tells  in  an  instant  if  it  be  in  perfect  tune,  so 
did  these  skilful  manipulators,  fingering  at  the  end  of 
this  mightier  instrument,  declare  it  to  be  in  perfect 
tone,  ready  to  whisper  its  harmonies  through  the  -seas. 
At  the  same  time,  the  ten  hundred  and  seventy 
miles  of  cable  left  on  board  the  Great  Eastern  were 
pronounced  as  faultless  as  the  day  it  had  been  shipped 
on  board. 

With  such  conclusions  of  science  to  animate  and 
inspire  them,  the  great  task  of  manufacturing  nearly 
seventeen  hundred  miles  of  cable  once  more  began. 
And  while  this  work  went  on,  the  Great  Eastern,  that 
had  done  her  part  so  well  before,  again  opened  her 
sides,  and  the  mysterious  cord  was  drawn  into  her 
vast,  dark,  silent  womb,  from  which  it  was  to  issue 
only  into  the  darker  and  more  silent  bosom  of  the 
deep. 


CHAPTEK  XVI. 

LIIE  EXPEDITION  OF  1866.  IMMENSE  PREPARATIONS.  RELIGIOUS  SERV- 
ICE AT  VALENTIA.  SAILING  OF  THE  FLEET.  DIARY  OF  THE  VOYAGE. 
CABLE  LANDED  AT  HEART'S  CONTENT. 

IN  these  pages  we  have  led  our  readers  through 
twelve  long  years,  and  have  had  to  tell  many  a  tale  of 
disaster  and  defeat.  It  is  now  our  privilege  to  tell  of 
triumphant  success.  Victory  has  come  at  last,  but  not 
by  the  chance  of  fortune,  but  by  the  utmost  efforts  of 
man,  by  the  union  of  science  and  skill  with  indomit- 
able perseverance.  The  failure  of  the  last  year  was  a 
sad  disappointment ;  but  so  far  from  damping  the  cour- 
age of  those  embarked  in  the  enterprise,  it  only  roused 
them  to  a  more  gigantic  effort.  They  were  now  to 
prepare  for  a  fifth  expedition.  In  this  they  set  them- 
selves to  anticipate  every  possible  emergencv,  and.  to 
combine  the  elements  of  success  so  as  to  render  failure 
impossible. 

The  Great  Eastern  herself,  which  they  had  come  to 
regard  with  a  kind  of  fondness,  a  feeling  of  affection 
and  pride,  as  the  ark  that  was  to  bear  their  fortunes 
across  the  deep,  was  made  ready  for  her  crowning 
achievement.  For  months  Captain  Anderson  and  Mr. 
Halpin,  his  chief  officer,  worked  day  and  night  to  get 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC    TELEGRAPH.       345 

her  into  perfect  trim.  She  had  become  sadly  fouled 
in  her  many  voyages.  As  she  swam  the  seas,  a  thou 
sand  things  clung  to  her  as  to  a  floating  island,  till  her 
hull  was  encrusted  with  mussels  and  barnacles  tw. 
feet  thick,  and  long  seaweed  flaunted  from  her  sides. 
Like  a  brave  old  war-horse,  long  neglected,  she  needed 
a  thorough  grooming,  to  have  her  hair  combed  and 
her  limbs  well  rubbed  down,  to  fit  her  to  take  the 
field.  But  it  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  get  under  the 
huge  creature,  to  give  her  such  a  dressing.  Yet  Cap- 
tain Anderson  was  equal  to  the  emergency.  He  con- 
trived a  simple  instrument  by  which  every  part  of  her 
bottom  was  raked  and  scrubbed.  Getting  rid  of  this 
rough3  shapeless  mass  would  make  her  feel  easy  and 
comfortable  at  sea,  and  add  at  least  a  knot  an  hour  to 
her  speed. 

The  boilers  too  were  thoroughly  cleansed  and  re- 
paired in  every  part,  and  the  paddle-engines  were  so 
arranged  that  in  five  minutes  they  could  be  discon- 
nected, so  that  by  going  ahead  with  one  and  backing 
with  the  other,  the  ship  could  be  held  perfectly  at  rest 
or  be  turned  around  in  her  own  length,  a  very  import- 
ant matter  when  they  should  come  to  fish  in  deep 
waters  for  the  broken  end  of  the  cable.  To  prepare 
for  this,  she  was  armed  with  chains  and  ropes  and 
irons  of  the  most  formidable  kind.  For  grappling  the 
cable,  she  took  on  board  twenty  miles  of  rope,  which 


346       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

would  bear  a  strain  of  thirty  tons,  probably  the  largest 
fishing-line  used  since  the  days  of  Noah. 

The  cable  was  manufactured  at  the  rate  of  twenty 
miles  a  day,  and  as  fast  as  delivered  and  found  perfect, 
was  coiled  on  board.  And  now  the  electricians  tried 
their  skill  to  outdo  all  that  they  had  done  before.  As 
Captain  Anderson  observed,  it  seemed  as  if  never  had 
so  much  "brain  power"  been  concentrated  on  the  prob- 
lem of  success.  The  cable  itself  furnished  the  grand- 
est subject  of  experiment.  As  every  week  added 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  to  its  length,  there  was 
constant  opportunity  to  try  the  electric  current  on 
longer  distances  and  with  new  conditions.  The  re- 
sults obtained  showed  the  rapid  and  marvellous  prog- 
ress of  electrical  science.  Said  the  London  Times : 
"The  science  of  making,  testing,  and  laying  cables 
has  so  much  improved  that  an  undetected  fault  in  an 
insulated  wire  has  now  become  literally  impossible, 
while  so  much  are  the  instruments  for  signalling  im- 
proved, that  not  only  can  a  slight  fault  be  disregarded 
if  necessary,  but  it  is  even  easy  to  work  through  a  sub- 
marine wire  with  a  foot  of  its  copper  conductor  stripped 
and  bare  to  the  water.  This  latter  result,  astonishing  as 
it  may  appear,  has  actually  been  achieved  for  some 
days  past  with  the  whole  Atlantic  cable  on  board  the 
Great  Eastern.  Out  of  a  length  of  more  than  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  miles,  a  coil  has  been  taken 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       347 

from  the  centre,  the  copper  conductor  stripped  clean  of 
its  insulation  for  a  foot  in  length,  and  in  this  condition 
lowered  over  the  vessel's  side  till  it  rested  on  the 
ground.  Yet  through  this  the  clearest  signals  have 
been  sent — so  clear,  indeed,  as  at  one  time  to  raise  the 
question  whether  it  would  not  be  worth  while  to  grap- 
ple for  the  first  old  Atlantic  cable  ever  laid,  and  with 
these  new  instruments  working  gently  through  it  for  a 
year  or  so,  at  least  make  it  pay  cost." 

As  other  things  were  on  the  same  gigantic  scale,  by 
the  time  the  big  ship  had  her  cargo  and  stores  on 
board,  she  was  well  laden.  Of  the  cable  alone  there 
were  two  thousand  four  hundred  miles,  coiled  in  three 
immense  tanks  as  the  year  before.  Of  this  seven 
hundred  and  forty-eight  miles  were  a  part  of  the  cable 
of  the  last  expedition.  The  tanks  alone,  with  the 
water  in  them,  weighed  over  a  thousand  tons ;  and 
the  cable  which  they  held,  four  thousand  tons  more; 
besides  which  she  had  to  carry  eight  thousand  five 
hundred  tons  of  coal  and  five  hundred  tons  of  telegraph 
stores,  making  fourteen  thousand  tons,  besides  en- 
gines, rigging,  etc.,  which  made  nearly  as  much  more. 
So  enormous  was  the  burden,  that  it  was  thought 
prudent  not  to  take  on  board  all  her  coal  before  she 
left  the  Medway,  especially  as  the  channel  was  wind- 
ing and  shallow.  It  was  therefore  arranged  that  about 
a  third  of  her  coal  should  be  taken  in  at  Berehaven,  a 


348        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

port  on  the  south-west  coast  of  Ireland.     With  this 
exception,  her  lading  was  complete. 

The  time  for  departure  had  been  fixed  for  the  last 
day  of  June,  and  so  admirable  had  been  the  arrange- 
ments, and  such  the  diligence  of  all  concerned,  that 
exactly  at  the  hour  of  noon,  she  loosened  from  her 
moorings,  and  began  to  move.  It  was  well  that  she 
had  not  on  board  her  whole  cargo ;  for  as  it  was,  she 
drew  nearly  thirty-two  feet.  Never  had  any  keel 
pressed  so  deep  in  those  waters.  It  required  skilful 
handling  to  get  her  safely  to  the  sea.  Gently  and 
softly  she  floated  down,  over  bars  where  she  almost 
grazed  the  sand,  where  but  a  few  inches  lifted  her 
enormous  hull  above  the  river's  bed.  But  at  length 
the  rising  tide  .bears  her  safely  over,  and  she  is  afloat 
in  the  deeper  waters  of  the  Channel.  At  first  the  sea 
did  not  give  her  a  very  gracious  welcome.  The  wind 
was  dead  ahead,  and  the  waves  dashed  furiously 
against  her ;  but  she  kept  steadily  on,  tossing  their 
spray  on  high,  as  if  they  had  struck  against  the  rocks 
of  Eddystone  lighthouse.  In  four  or  five  days  she  had 
passed  down  the  Irish  coast,  and  was  quietly  anchored 
in  the  harbor  at  Berehaven,  where  she  was  soon  joined 
by  the  other  vessels  of  the  squadron. 

The  Telegraph  fleet  was  not  the  same  as  that  of  the 
last  year.  The  government  could  spare  but  a  single 
ship;  but  the  Terrible,  which  had  accompanied  the 


\ 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       349 

Great  Eastern  on  the  former  expedition,  was  still  there 
to  represent  the  majesty  of  England.  The  William 
Corry,  a  vessel  of  two  thousand  tons,  bore  the  ponder- 
ous shore  end,  which  was  to  be  laid  out  thirty  miles 
from  the  Irish  coast,  while  the  Albany  and  the  Med- 
way  were  ships  chartered  by  the  Company.  The  lat- 
ter carried  several  hundred  miles  of  the  last  year's 
cable,  besides  one  of  heavier  proportions,  ninety  miles 
long,  to  be  stretched  across  the  mouth  of  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence. 

While  the  Great  Eastern  remained  at  Berehaven, 
to  take  in  her  final  stores  of  coal,  the  William 
Corry  proceeded  around  the  coast  to  Valentia  to 
lay  the  shore  end.  She  arrived  off  the  harbor  on  the 
morning  of  Saturday,  the  seventh  July,  and  imme- 
diately began  to  prepare  for  her  heavy  task.  This 
shore  end  was  of  tremendous  size,  weighing  twenty 
tons  to  the  mile.  It  is  by  far  the  strongest  wire  cable 
ever  made,  and  in  short  lengths  is  stiff  as  an  iron  bar. 
As  the  year  before,  the  cable  was  to  be  brought  off  on 
a  bridge  of  boats  reaching  from  the  ship  to  the  foot  of 
the  cliff.  All  the  fishermen's  boats  were  gathered 
from  along  the  shore,  while  H.  M.  S.  Racoon,  which 
was  guarding  that  part  of  the  coast,  sent  up  her  boats 
to  help,  so  that,  as  they  all  mustered  in  line,  there 
were  forty  of  them,  making  a  long  pontoon-bridge; 
and  Irish  boatmen  with  eager  looks  and  strong  hands 


350       HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH. 

were  standing  along  the  line,  to  grasp  the  ponderous 
chain.  All  went  well,  and  by  one  o'clock  the  cable 
was  landed,  and  its  end  brought  up  the  cliff  to  the 
station.  The  signals  were  found  to  be  perfect,  and  the 


SHORE  END — EXACT  SIZE. 


William  Corrj  then  slowly  drew  off  to  sea,  unlimber- 
ing  her  stiff  shore  end,  till  she  had  cast  over  the  whole 
thirty  miles.  At  three  o'clock  next  morning  she  tele- 
graphed through  the  cable  that  her  work  was  done, 
and  she  had  buoyed  the  end  in  water  a  hundred  fath- 
oms deep.  Describing  the  scene,  the  correspondent  of 
the  London  News  says : 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGKAPH.       351 

"  In  its  leading  features  it  presented  a  striking  dif- 
ference to  the  ceremony  of  last  year.  Earnest  gravity 
and  a  deep-seated  determination  to  repress  all  show  of 
the  enthusiasm  of  which  every  body  was  full,  was  very 
manifest.  The  excitement  was  below,  instead  of  above 
the  surface.  Speech-making,  hurrahing,  public  con- 
gratulations, and  vaunts  of  confidence  were,  as  it 
seemed,  avoided  as  if  on  purpose.  There  was  some- 
thing far  more  touching  in  the  quiet  and  reverent 

• 

solemnity  of  the  spectators  yesterday  than  in  the 
slightly  boisterous  joviality  of  the  peasantry  last  year. 
Nothing  could  prevent  the  scene  being  intensely  dra- 
matic, but  the  prevailing  tone  of  the  drama  was  serious 
instead  of  comic  and  triumphant.  The  old  crones  in 
tattered  garments  who  cowered  together,  dudheen  in 
mouth,  their  gaudy  colored  shawls  tightly  drawn  over 
head  and  under  the  chin — the  barefooted  boys  and 
girls,  who  by  long  practice  walked  over  sharp  and 
jagged  rocks,  which  cut  up  boots  and  shoes,  with 
perfect  impunity — the  men  at  work  uncovering  the 
trench,  and  winding  in  single  file  up  and  down  the 
hazardous  path  cut  by  the  cablemen  in  the  otherwise 
inaccessible  rock  —  the  patches  of  bright  color  fur- 
nished by  the  red  petticoats  and  cloaks — the  ragged 
garments,  only  kept  from  falling  to  pieces  by  bits  of 
string  and  tape — the  good  old  parish  priest,  who  exer- 
cises mild  and  gentle  spiritual  sway  over  the  loving 


352       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

subjects  of  whom  the  ever-popular  Knight  of  Ker  y 
is  the  temporal  head,  looking  on  benignly  from  llz 
car — the  bright  eyes,  supple  figures,  and  innocent  faces 
of  the  peasant  lasses,  and  the  earnestly  hopeful  ex- 
pression of  all — made  up  a  picture  impossible  to  de- 
scribe with  justice.  Add  to  this,  the  startling  abrupt- 
ness witn  which  the  tremendous  cliffs  stand  flush  out 
of  the  water,  the  alternations  of  bright  wild  flowers  and 
patches  of  verdure  with  the  most  desolate  barrenness, 
the  mountain  sheep  indifferently  cropping  the  short, 
sweet  grass,  and  the  undercurrent  of  consciousness  of 
the  mighty  interests  at  stake,  and  few  scenes  will 
seem  more  important  and  interesting  than  that  of  yes- 
terday." 

As  the  ships  are  now  ready  for  sea,  and  all  who  are 
to  embark  have  come  on  board,  we  may  look  about  us 
at  the  personnel  of  the  expedition.  Who  are  here  ? 
"We  recognize  many  old  familiar  faces,  that  we  have 
seen  in  former  campaigns — gallant  men  who  have  had 
many  a  sea-fight  in  this  peaceful  war.  First,  the  eye 
seeks  the  tall  form  of  Captain  Anderson.  There  he 
is,  modest  and  grave,  of  few  words,  but  seeing  every 
thing,  watching  every  thing,  and  ruling  every  thing 
with  a  quiet  power.  And  there  is  his  second  officer, 
Mr.  Halpin,  who  keeps  a  sharp  lookout  after  the 
crew,  to  see  that  every  man  does  his  duty.  While 
he  thus  keeps  watch  of  all  on  board,  Staff  Com- 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       363 

mander  Moriarty,  E.  N".,  comes  on  deck,  with  in- 
struments in  hand,  to  look  after  the  heavenly  bodies, 
and  reckon  the  ship's  latitude  and  longitude.  This 
is  an  old  veteran  in  the  service,  who  has  been  in 
all  the  expeditions,  and  it  would  be  highly  improper, 
even  if  it  were  possible,  for  a  cable  to  be  laid  across 
the  Atlantic  without  his  presence  and  aid.  And  here 
comes  Mr.  Canning,  the  engineer,  whose  "  deep-sea 
soundings,"  the  last  year,  were  on  a  scale  of  such 
magnitude,  and  who,  if  he  cannot  well  dive  deeper, 
means  to  pull  stronger  the  next  time.  That  slight 
form  yonder  is  Professor  Thomson,  of  Glasgow,  a  man 
who  in  his  knowledge  of  the  subtle  element  to  be 
brought  into  play,  and  the  enthusiasm  he  brings  to  its 
study,  is  the  very  genius  of  electrical  science ;  and  this 
is  Mr.  Yarley,  who  seems  to  have  the  lightning  in  his 
fingers,  and  to  whom  the  world  owes  some  marvellous 
discoveries  of  the  laws  of  electricity.  Mr.  Willoughby 
Smith,  a  worthy  associate  in  these  studies  and  discov- 
eries, goes  out  on  the  ship  as  electrician. 

And  here  is  Mr.  Glass,  the  managing  director  of  the 
Telegraph  Construction  and  Maintenance  Company, 
which  has  undertaken  by  contract  to  manufacture  tin's 
cable  and  lay  it  safely  across  the  ocean ;  and  Mr. 
Gooch,  chairman  of  the  company  that  owns  the  Great 
Eastern — two  gentlemen  to  whom  the  Atlantic  Tele- 
graph is  under  the  greatest  obligation,  since  it  was 


351        HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH. 

they  wlio,  six  months  before,  when  the  project  seemed 
in  danger  of  being  given  up  or  postponed  for  years, 
took  Mr.  Field  by  the  hand,  and  cheered  him  on  to  a 
last  effort.  Blessings  on  their  hearts  of  oak !  Mr. 
Gooch  accompanies  the  ship,  while  Mr.  Glass,  keeping 
Mr.  Yarley  at  his  side  as  electrician,  remains  on  shore, 
there  to  receive  reports  of  the  daily  progress  of  the 
expedition,  and  to  issue  his.  orders.  What  a  post  of 
observation  was  that  telegraph  house  on  the  cliffs  of 
Valentia!  It  was  far  better  than  the  tower  of  Galileo, 
for  it  looked  out  on  a  broader  horizon,  one  stretching 
a  hundred  times  as  far  around  the  world.  Was  there 
ever  a  commander  endowed  with  such  .a  range  of 
vision?  What  would  Nelson  have  said,  if  he  had  had 
a  spy-glass  with  which  he  could  watch  ships  in  action 
two  thousand  miles  away,  and  issue  his  orders  to  a 
fleet  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean  ?  With  such  a 
"long  range,"  he  might  almost  have  fought  the  battle 
of  the  Nile  from  his  home  in  England. 

Standing  on  such  a  spot,  and  surrounded  by  such 
men,  representing  the  capital,  the  science,  and  the 
skill  of  England,  with  all  those  gallant  ships  in  sight, 
one's  heart  might  well  beat  high.  But  there  were 
other  reflections  that  saddened  the  hour,  and  caused 
some  at  least  to  look  once  more  on  the  rocks  of  Va- 
lentia with  deep  emotion.  They  thought  of  some  who 
were  not  there.  Brett,  Mr.  Field's  first  friend  in  Eng- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH.       855 

land,  was  in  his  grave.  Beyond  the  Atlantic,  Captain? 
Hudson  and  Berryman  slept  the  sleep  that  knows  no 
waking.  "Was  it  strange  that  they  should  think  sadly 
and  tenderly  of  the  absent  and  the  dead,  and  mourn 
that  many  who  had  toiled  with  them  in  former  days, 
were  not  there  now  to  share  their  triumph  ? 

The  feeling,  therefore,  of  many  on  this  occasion, 
was  not  one  elate  with  pride  and  hope,  but  subdued 
by  serious  thoughts  and  tender  memories.  In  har- 
mony with  this  feeling,  and  with  the  great  work  which 
they  were  about  to  undertake,  it  was  proposed  that 
before  the  expedition  sailed  they  should  hold  a  solemn 
religious  service. 

Was  there  ever  a  fitter  place  or  a  fitter  hour  for 
prayer  than  here,  in  the  presence  of  the  great  sea  to 
which  they  were  about  to  commit  their  lives  and  their 
precious  trust  ?  The  first  expedition  ever  sent  forth 
had  been  consecrated  by  prayer.  On  that  very  spot, 
nine  years  before,  all  heads  were  uncovered  and  all 
forms  bent  low,  at  the  solemn  words  of  supplication ; 
and  there  had  the  Earl  of  Carlisle — since  gone  to  his 
honored  grave — cheered  them  on  with  high  religious 
hopes,  describing  the  ships  which  were  sent  forth  on 
such  a  mission,  as  "  beautiful  upon  the  waters  as  were 
the  feet  upon  the  mountains  of  them  that  publish  the 
gospel  of  peace." 

In  such  a  spirit  two  of  the  directors — Mr.  Bevan 


356      HISTOEY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

of  London,  and  Mr.  Bewley,  of  Dublin — sent  invita* 
tions  to  a  number  of  persons  to  meet  at  Yalentia,  as 
the  expedition  was  about  to  sail,  and  commend  it  to 
the  favor  of  Almighty  God.     Captain  Anderson  had 
greatly  desired  to  be  with  them  at  this  parting  service, 
but  the  ships  were  at  Berehaven,  and  they  were  just 
embarking  for  sea.     But  though  the  officers  could  not 
be  present,  a  large  company  came  together.     Said  an 
Irish  paper :  "  Men  of  different  religious  denomina- 
tions, and  of  various  professions  in  life — Irishmen, 
Englishmen,  and  Scotchmen — -joined  in  such  a  service 
as  has  never  been  held  in  this  island."    It  was  a  scene 
long  to  be  remembered,  as  they  bowed  together  before 
the  God  and  Father  of  all.     Their  brethren,  who  were 
about  to  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  felt  their  de- 
pendence on  a  Higher  Power.      Their  preparations 
were  complete.     All  that  man  could  do  was  done. 
They  had  exhausted  every  resource  of  science  and 
skill.     The  issue  now  remained  with  Him  who  con- 
trols the  winds  and  waves.     Therefore  was  it  most  fit 
that,  at  the  very  moment  of  embarking,  those  who 
remained  behind  should,  as  it  were,  kneel  upon  the 
cliff,  and,  with  outstretched  hands,  commit  them  to 
Him  who  alone  spreadeth  out  the  heavens  and  ruleth 
the  raging  of  the  sea. 

In  all  this  there  is  something  of  antique  stamp, 
something  which  makes  us  think  of  the  sublime  men 


HISTORY  OP  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       357 

of  an  earlier,  and  better  time  ;  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers 
kneeling  on  the  deck  of  their  little  ship  at  Leyden,  as 
they  were  about  to  seek  a  refuge  and  a  home  in  the 
forests  of  the  New  World  ;  and  of  Columbus  and  his 
companions  celebrating  a  solemn  service  before  their 
departure  from  Spain.  And  so  with  labor  and  with 
prayer  did  this  great  expedition  go  forth  once  more 
from  the  shores  of  Ireland,  bearing  the  hopes  of  science 
and  of  civilization — with  courage  and  skill  looking 
out  from  the  bow  across  the  stormy  waters,  and  a 
religious  faith,  like  that  of  Columbus,  standing  at  the 
helm. 

On  Friday  morning,  the  thirteenth  of  July,  the  fleet 
finally  bade  adieu  to  the  land.  "Was  Friday  an  un- 
lucky day?  Some  of  the  sailors  thought  so,  and 
would  have  been  glad  to  leave  a  day  before  or  after. 
But  Columbus  sailed  on  Friday,  and  discovered  the 
New  "World  on  Friday,  and  so  this  expedition  put  to 
sea  on  Friday,  and,  as  a  good  Providence  would  have 
it,  reached  land  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  on 
the  same  day  of  the  week  !  As  the  ships  disappeared 
below  the  horizon,  Mr.  Glass  and  Mr.  Varley  went  up 
on  their  watch-tower — not  to  look,  but  to  listen  for 
the  first  voice  from  the  sea.  The  ships  bore  away  for 
the  buoy  where  lay  the  end  of  the  shore  line  ;  but  the 
weather  was  thick  and  foggy,  with  frequent  bursts  of 
rain,  and  they  could  not  see  far  on  the  water.  For 


358       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

an  hour  or  two  they  went  sailing  round  and  round, 
like  sea-gulls  in  search  of  prey.  At  length  the  Albany 
caught  sight  of  the  buoy  tossing  on  the  waves,  and, 
firing  a  signal  gun,  bore  down  straight  upon  it.  The 
cable  was  soon  hauled  up  from  its  bed,  a  hundred 
fathoms  deep,  and  brought  over  the  stern  of  the  Great 
Eastern  ;  and  the  watchers  on  shore,  who  had  been 
waiting  with  some  impatience,  saw  the  first  flash,  and 
Yarley  read,  "  Got  the  shore  end — all  right — going  to 
make  the  splice."  Then  all  was  still,  and  they  knew 
that  that  delicate  operation  was  going  on.  Quick, 
nimble  hands  tore  off  the  covering  from  several  yards 
of  the  shore  end  and  of  the  main  cable,  till  they  came 
to  the  core  ;  then,  swiftly  unwinding  the  copper  wires, 
they  laid  them  together,  twining  them  as  closely  and 
carefully  as  a  silken  braid.  Then  this  delicate  child 
of  the  sea  was  wrapped  in  swaddling-clothes,  covered 
up  with  many  coatings  of  gutta-percha,  and  hempen 
rope,  and  strong  iron  wires,  the  whole  bound  round 
and  round  with  heavy  bands,  and  the  splicing  was 
complete.  Signals  are  now  sent  through  the  whole 
cable  on  board  the  Great  Eastern  and  back  to  the 
telegraph  house  at  Yalentia,  and  the  whole  length, 
two  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty  nautical  miles,  is 
reported  perfect.  And  so  with  light  hearts  they  bear 
away.  It  is  a  little  after  three  o'clock.  As  they  turn 
to  the  west,  the  following  is  the  "order  of  battle": 


HISTORY  OP  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       359 

the  Terrible  goes  ahead,  standing  off  on  the  starboard 
bow,  to  keep  other  vessels  out  of  the  course ;  the 
Medway  is  on  the  port,  and  the  Albany  on  the  star- 
board quarter,  ready  to  pick  up  or  let  go  a  buoy,  or 
to  do  other  work  that  might  be  required.  All  these 
ships  were  to  keep  the^r  allotted  positions,  and  within 
signalling  distance  of  tbe  Great  Eastern,  and  at  any 
time  that  she  was  heard  firing  guns,  they  were  to  close  in 
with  her  to  render  assistance.  Their  course  lay  thirty 
miles  to  the  south  of  that  of  the  last  year,  so  that 
there  could  be  no  danger  in  fishing  for  the  old  cable, 
of  disturbing  the  new. 

Dr.  Eussell,  the  brilliant  historian  of  the  Expedition 
of  1865,  was  not  on  board  the  Great  Eastern  this 
year.  He  had  left  England  a  few  weeks  before  for 
the  scene  of  the  war  in  Germany.  His  place  was 
supplied  by  Mr.  John  0.  Deane,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Anglo-American  Company,  whose  "Diary  of  the  Ex- 
pedition "  furnishes  a  faithful  record  of  the  incidents 
of  this  memorable  voyage.  If  the  story  be  not  quite 
so  thrilling  as  that  of  the  year  before,  it  is  because  it 
has  not  to  tell  of  such  fatal  accidents.  It  has  the 
monotony  of  success.  A  few  pages  from  this  diary, 
giving  its  most  important  portions,  will  render  this 
narrative  complete. 

The  voyage  began  with  good  weather  and  every 
omen  of  success.  Friday,  indeed,  was  a  dav  of  fog 


360        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH 

and  rain.  At  the  very  time  they  were  making  the 
splice  with  the  shore  end,  the  rain  was  pouring  on  the 
deck.  But  in  a  few  hours  it  cleared  off,  and  Satur- 
day and  Sunday,  Mr.  Field  writes  in  his  journal, 
"  Weather  fine ;"  and  Monday,  £(Calm,  beautiful  day. 
Signals  perfect."  Owing  to  the  improved  system 
adopted  by  the  chief  electrician,  communication  with 
the  shore  was  kept  up  even  while  the  tests  for  insula- 
tion were  going  on.* 

*  The  new  method  is  thus  explained  by  Mr.  Deane : 
"  The  fundamental  difference  between  last  year's  system  of  testing  and 
that  of  the  present  expedition  is,  that  now  all  the  ordinary  tests  for  con- 
tinuity, etc.,  may  be  made  simultaneously  with  the  test  for  insulation, 
which  is  not  interrupted  at  all ;  whereas,  last  year,  during  half  the  time 
spent  in  laying  the  cable,  the  insulation  test  was  wholly  neglected,  as 
will  presently  be  shown. 

"Last  year,  each  hour  was  divided  into  four  parts.  The  first  half  of 
the  hour  was  spent  in  testing  for  insulation.  During  the  second  half, 
which  was  divided  into  three  periods  of  ten  minutes  each,  tests  were 
made  to  ascertain  the  resistance  of  the  conductor  and  to  prove  the  con- 
tinuity of  the  same.  All  these  tests  were  of  such  a  nature  as  to  afford 
no  criterion  whatever  of  the  state  of  the  insulation  during  their  con- 
tinuance, so  that  during  the  half  of  each  hour,  or,  in  other  words, 
during  half  the  time  spent  in  laying  the  cable,  the  insulation  test  was 
neglected.  Also,  while  the  insulation  test  was  being  made,  there  was 
no  means  of  communicating  with  the  shore,  as  the  observations  were 
taken  on  board  only.  This  year,  a  test  for  insulation  is  constantly  kept 
on,  and,  by  Mr.  Willoughby  Smith's  arrangement,  corresponding  obser- 
vations are  made  both  on  ship  and  shore.  At  stated  times  during  the 
hour,  the  continuity  test  is  made  at  the  shore  station  by  means  of  a 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH;       361 


possible  precaution  was  taken  to  guard 
against  such  accidents  as  had  marred  the  success  of 
the  year  before.  Kemembering  how  small  a  thing 
had  sufficed  to  puncture  the  cable,  the  men  in  the 
tank  were  not  allowed  to  wear  boots  or  shoes  with 
nails  in  their  heels,  but  were  cased  from  head  to  foot 
in  canvas  dresses,  drawn  over  their  ordinary  sailor 
costume,  and,  with  slippers  on  their  feet,  they  glided 
about  as  softly  as  ghosts.  But  we  turn  to  Mr.  Deane's 
diary  for  a  record  of  the  progress  from  day  to  day  : 

"Sunday,  July  15.  —  All  through  yesterday  the 
paying-out  machinery  worked  so  smoothly  —  the 
electrical  tests  were  so  perfect  —  the  weather  was 
so  fine,  that  fresh  confidence  in  the  ultimate  re- 
sult has  been  naturally  inspired.  The  recollec- 
tion, however,  of  the  reverses  of  the  expedition  of 
1865  is  always  before  those  who  Have  the  greatest 
reliance  on  success  ;  and  there  is  a  quiet  repose  about 

condenser  applied  to  the  conductor  of  the  cable.  The  effect  of  this  is 
to  increase  the  deflection  on  the  ship's  insulation  galvanometer,  thus 
serving  as  a  continuity  test.  Communications  from  shore  to  ship  are 
also  made  by  these  means.  Ship  can  send  signals  to  shore  by  simply 
reversing  the  current  for  certain  lengths  of  time,  answering  to  some 
understood  code,  or  by  increasing  and  diminishing  the  tension  of  the 
line,  according  to  a  prearranged  plan.  All  these  operations  may  be 
performed  without  interrupting  the  insulation  test,  except  for  a  few 
seconds  while  the  current  is  being  reversed.  So  far  for  the  new  system 
in  the  electrical  room  as  compared  with  last  year," 


862       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

'she  manner  of  the  chief  practical  men  on  board,  which 
is  an  earnest  that  they  will  not  allow  themselves  to 
be  carried  away  by  the  smoothness  of  twenty -four 
hours'  events.  The  convoy  kept  their  position  accu- 
rately during  the  day.  The  Terrible  signalled  that  a 
man  had  fallen  overboard.  Her  cutter  was  speedily 
lowered.  The  sailor  had,  however,  laid  hold  of  a  rope 
thrown  to  him  from  the  frigate,  before  the  boat  reached 
him. 

"  Monday. — Still  every  thing  going  on  well.  The 
sea  like  a  mill-pond.  The  paying  out  of  the  cable 
from  the  after  tank  progressing  with  uniformity  and 
steadiness,  and  the  electrical  tests  perfect. 

"  Our  track  is  about  thirty  miles  to  the  south  of 
that  of  last  year,  and  at  that  distance  we  pas&cd  paral- 
lel to  where  the  telegraph  cable  parted  in  August, 
1857.  Our  average  speed  has  been  about  five  knots. 
We  were  obliged  to  stop  the  screw  engines  in  order  to 
bring  down  to  that  speed,  and,  moreover,  to  reduce  the 
paddle  boiler  power.  Captain  Anderson's  ingenious 
*?iode  of  cleaning  the  ship's  bottom,  which  he  carried 
out  last  winter  at  Sheerness,  has  proved  to  have  ef- 
fected this  very  desirable  object.  Mr.  Beckwith,  the 
engineer,  is  now  enabled  to  regulate  and  adjust  her 
speed,  and  get  more  out  of  the  ship  than  he  could  last 
year,  when  her  bottom  was  one  incrustecl  mass  of 
muscles. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       3G3 

"  Tuesday. — Another  twenty-four  hours  of  uninter- 
rupted success.  All  day  yesterday  it  was  so  calm  that 
the  masts  of  our  convoy  were  reflected  in  the  ocean, 
an  unusual  thing  to  see.  A  large  shoal  of  porpoises 
gambolled  about  us  for  half  an  hour.  A  glorious 
sunset,  and  later,  a  crescent  moon,  which  we  hope  to 
see  in  the  brightness  of  her  full,  lighting  our  way  into 
Trinity  Bay  before  the  days  of  this  July  shall  have 
ended." 

But  the  whole  night  did  not  pass  away  so  tran- 
quilly. By  midnight  the  rain  fell  fast,  and  the  wind 
blew  fiercely,  and  then  occurred  the  only  real  alarm 
of  the  voyage.  The  scene  is  thus  described  by  Mr. 
Deane : 

"All  went  on  well  until  twenty  minutes  past  twelve 
A.M.,  Greenwich  time,  when  the  first  real  shock  was 
given  to  the  success  which  has  hitherto  attended  us, 
and  this  time  we  had  real  cause  to  be  alarmed.  A 
foul  flake  took  place  in  the  after  tank.  The  engines 
were  immediately  turned  astern,  and  the  paying  out 
of  the  cable  stopped.  We  were  all  soon  on,  deck,  and 
learned  that  the  running  or  paying  out  part  of  the 
coil  had  caught  three  turns  of  the  flake  immediately 
under  it,  carried  them  into  the  eye  of  the  coil,  fouling 
the  lay  out,  and  hauling  up  one  and  a  half  turns  from 
the  outside,  and  five  turns  in  the  eye  of  the  under 
flake.  This  was  stopped,  fortunately,  before  entering. 


364       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

tlie  paying  out  machinery.  Stoppers  of  hemp  also 
were  put  on  near  the  Y- wheel  astern,  and  Mr.  Canning 
gave  orders  to  stand  by  to  let  go  the  buoy.  This  was 
not  very  cheering  to  hear,  but  his  calm  and  collected 
manner  gave  us  all  confidence  that  his  skill  and  expe- 
rience would  extricate  the  cable  from  the  obvious 
danger  in  which  it  was  placed.  No  fishing  line  was 
ever  entangled  worse  than  the  rope  was  when  thrust  up 
in  apparently  hopeless  knots  from  the  eye  of  the  coil 
to  the  deck.  There  at  least  five  hundred  feet  of  rope 
lay  in  this  state,  in  the  midst  of  thick  rain  and  in- 
creasing wind.  The  cable  crew  set  to  work  under  their 
chief  engineer's  instructions  to  disentangle  it.  Mr. 
Halpin  was  there  too,  patiently  following  the  bights 
as  they  showed  themselves;  the  crew  now  passing 
them  forward,  now  aft,  until  at  last  the  character  of 
the  tangle  was  seen,  and  soon  it  became  apparent  that 
ere  long  the  cable  would  be  cleared.  All  this  time 
Captain  Anderson  was  at  the  taffrail  anxiously  watch- 
ing the  strain  on  the  rope,  which  he  could  scarcely 
make  out,  the  night  was  so  dark,  and  endeavoring  to 
keep  it  up  and  down,  going  on  and  reversing  with 
paddle  and  screw.  When  one  reflects  for  a  moment 
upon  the  size  of  the  ship,  and  the  enormous  mass  she 
presents  to  the  wind,  the  difficulty  of  keeping  her 
stern,  under  the  circumstances,  over  the  cable,  can  be 
appreciated.  The  port  paddle-wheel  was  disconnected  ; 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.      365 

but  shortly  afterward  there  was  a  shift  of  wind,  and 
the  vessel  canted  the  wrong  way.  Welcome  voices 
were  now  heard  passing  the  word  aft  from  the  tank 
that  the  bights  were  cleared,  and  to  pay  out.  Then 
the  huge  stoppers  were  gently  loosened,  and  at  five 
minutes  past  two  A.M.,  to  the  joy  of  all,  we  were  once 
more  discharging  the  cable.  They  veered  it  away 
in  the  tank  to  clear  away  the  foul  flake  until  three 
A.M.,  when  the  screw  and  paddle  engines  were 
slowed  so  as  to  reduce  the  speed  of  the  ship  to  four 
and  a  half  knots.  During  all  this  critical  time  there 
was  an  entire  absence  of  noise  and  confusion.  Every 
order  was  silently  obeyed,  and  the  cable  men  and 
crew  worked  with  hearty  good-will.  Mr.  Canning 
has  had  experience  of  foul  flakes  before  this,  and 
showed  that  he  knew  what  to  do  in  the  emergency. 
But  what  of  the  electrical  condition  of  the  cable 
during  this  period  ?  Simply,  that  through  its  entire 
length  it  was  perfect." 

Thus,  after  three  anxious  hours,  the  danger  was 
past,  and  the  next  morning  the  report  of  the  ship  is, 
"A  fresh  breeze  from  the  southward,  a  dull,  gray  sky, 
with  occasional  rain,  and  a  moderate  sea." 

"  Thursday. — There  was  a  fresh  breeze  in  the  after- 
noon yesterday,  increasing  toward  evening.  It 
brought  a  heavy  swell  on  the  port  quarter,  which 
caused  the  ship  to  roll.  The  paying  out  from  the 


366       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

after  tank  went  on  steadily.  Two  of  the  large  buoys 
were  lifted  by  derrick  from  the  deck  near  the  bows 
of  the  ship,  and  placed  in  position  on  the  port  and 
starboard  side  of  the  forward  pick-up  machinery, 
ready  for  letting  go  if  necessary.  The  sun  went 
down  with  an  angry  look,  and  the  scud  came  rapidly 
from  the  eastward,  the  sea  rising.  A  wind  dead  aft 
is  not  the  best  for  cable  laying,  particularly  if  any 
accident  should  take  place.  By  half-past  eleven  to- 
night we  shall  have  exhausted  the  contents  of  the 
after  tank,  and  the  cable  will  then  be  paid  out  from 
the  fore  tank  along  the  trough  to  the  stern,  the 
distance  from  the  centre  of  the  tank  to  the  paying- 
out  machinery  being  four  hundred  and  ninety-four 
feet.  Last  night  the  swell  was  very  heavy,  to  which 
the  Great  Eastern  proved  herself  not  insensible.  Her 
rolling,  like  every  thing  ^else  appertaining  to  her, 
is  done  on  a  grand  scale.  We  see  the  liveliness 
with  which  that  operation  is  performed  on  board 
the  Albany  and  Medway,  and  we  are  not  at  all  dis- 
posed to  be  too  critical  in  our  observations  on  our 
own  movements.  The  speed  of  the  ship  was  kept  at 
four  and  a  half  during  the  night — the  slower  the  bet- 
ter, is  the  opinion  of  all  on  board— -festina  lente.  "We 
are  consuming  about  one  hundred  tons  a  day  of  the 
seven  thousand  tons  of  coal  which  we  had  on  board 
when  we  left  Berehaven,  and  Mr.  Beckwith,  who  has 


HISTO11Y   OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       367 

been  engineer  of  the  Great  Eastern  from  her  first 
voyage  to  the  present  moment,  says  her  engines  were 
never  in  better  order ;  and  their  appearance  and  work- 
ing do  him  and  his  able  staff  of  assistant  engineers 
the  greatest  credit. 

"Friday. — Yesterday  was  a  day  of  complete  success, 
the  paying  out  in  every  respect  satisfactory.  The 
wind  still  from  the  eastward,  but  inclined  to  draw  to 
the  northward,  the  sea  entirely  gone  down.  As  Mr. 
Canning  told  us  we  should  see  the  after  tank  emptied 
at  eleven  o'clock,  ship's  time,  we  were  all  collected 
there  about  ten  o'clock,  by  which  time  the  cable  was 
down  to  the  last  flake.  Next  to  having  daylight  for 
changing  from  the  after  to  the  fore  tank,  we  could  not 
have  had  a  more  favorable  time — clear  starlight,  no 
wind,  and  a  smooth  sea.  Looking  down  into  the 
tank,  the  scene  was  highly  picturesque.  The  cable- 
watch,  whose  figures  were  lighted  up  by  the  lamps 
suspended  from  above,  slowly  and  cautiously  lifted 
the  turns  of  the  coil  to  ease  their  path  to  the  eye. 
As  each  found  its  way  to  the  drum,  the  wooden  floor 
of  the  tank  showed  itself,  and  then  we  saw  more  floor, 
and  as  its  area  increased  the  cable  swept  along  its  sur- 
face with  a  low,  subdued  noise,  until,  with  a  graceful 
curve,  it  mounted  to  the  outlet,  where  it  was  soon  to 
join  a  fresh  supply  ;  and  now  we  hear  the  word  pass- 
ed that  they  have  arrived  at  the  last  turn,  and  the 


368       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

men  who  stood  on  the  stages  of  the  platform  of  the 
eye  with  the  bight,  watch  the  arrival  of  the  cable 
and  pass  it  up  with  tender  caution,  until  it  reaches 
the  summit ;  then  it  rushes  down  a  wooden  incline  to 
meet  the  spliced  rope,  which  had  by  this  time  come 
down  along  the  trough  leading  from  the  forward  tank. 
This  operation  was  conducted  with  great  skill  by  Mr. 
Canning  and  his  experienced  assistants,  Messrs.  Clif- 
ford and  Temple.  At  eleven  minutes  past  one  A.M., 
(Greenwich  time,)  the  fresh  rope  was  going  over  the 
stern,  and  the  screw  engines  going  ahead  at  thirteen 
minutes  past  one.  A  watch  of  four  men  is  now  sta- 
tioned, fore  and  aft,  all  along  the  trough,  which  is 
illuminated  by  many  lamps  at  short  distances  from 
each  other.  A  lamp  with  a  green  light  indicates  the 
mile-mark  as  it  comes  up  from  the  tank,  and  this  sig- 
nal is  repeated  until  it  reaches  the  stern,  where  it  is 
recorded  by  the  clerk  who  keeps  the  cable-log,  in  an 
office  adjoining  the  paying-out  machinery.  A  red 
lamp  indicates  danger.  During  the  daytime  red  and 
blue  flags  are  used.  All  through  the  night  the  sea 
was  smooth  as  glass,  and  by  this  morning  we  saw  that 
a  sensible  impression  had  been  made  on  the  contents 
of  the  fore  tank.  The  ship  begins  to  lighten  at  the 
bows,  and  by  this  time  to-morrow  will  come  up  more 
as  the  cable  passes  out  of  the  tank. 

"Saturday. — Yesterday  was  our  seventh  day  of  pay- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       369 

ing  out  cable,  and  so  far  we  have  been  more  fortunate 
than  the  expedition  of  last  year.  During  the  same 
period  of  1865,  two  faults  had  occurred — one  on  the 
twenty-fourth  July,  the  other  on  the  twenty-ninth — 
causing  a  detention  of  fifty-six  hours.  At  three  P.M. 
we  were  half-way,  and  passed  where  the  Atlantic 
Cable  of  1858  parted  twice,  on  the  twenty-sixth  and 
twenty-eighth  of  June — sad  memories  to  many  !  "We 
feel,  however,  that  every  hour  is  increasing  our  chance 
of  effecting  this  great  work.  '  I  believe  we  shall  do 
it  this  time,  Jack,'  I  heard  one  of  our  crew  say  to  an- 
other last  night.  '  I  believe  so  too,  Bill,'  was  the  re- 
ply ;  '  and  if  we  don't,  we  deserve  to  do  it,  and  that's 
all.'  It  blew  very  hard  from  two  o'clock  yesterday, 
up  to  ten  P.M.,  by  which  time  the  wind  gradually 
found  its  way  from  south-west  to  north-west,  which  is 
right  ahead,  just  what  we  want  for  cable-laying.  The 
Terrible  and  the  two  other  ships  plunged  into  the 
very  heavy  sea  which  the  southwester  raised,  and  we 
made  up  our  minds,  from  what  we  saw,  that  the  Great 
Eastern  is  the  right  ship  to  be  in,  in  a  gale  of  wind. 
During  the  night  heavy  showers  of  rain.  This  morn- 
ing the  sea  was  comparatively  smooth,  and  the  sky 
showed  welcome  patches  of  bright  blue.  If  all  goes 
well,  we  shall  be  up  to-morrow  evening  at  the  place 
where  last  year's  cable  parted.  A  couple  of  days 
would  bring  us  to  shallower  water,  and  then  we  may 


370        HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGKAPH. 

fairly  look  out  for  our  '  Heart's  Content.'  Messages 
come  from  England,  with,  the  news,  regularly  and 
speedily — excellent  practice  for  the  clerks  on  shore 
and  on  board  ship — great  comfort  to  us,  and  the  best 
evidence  to  those  who  will  read  this  journal,  of  the 
great  fact  that,  up  to  this  time,  the  cable  is  doing  its 
electric  work  efficiently." 

The  interest  of  the  voyage  was  greatly  increased  by 
the  news  daily  received  from  Europe.  Though  in  the 
middle  of  the  Atlantic,  they  were  still  joined  with  the 
Old  World,  and  messages  came  to  the  "  Great  Eastern 
Telegraph"  as  regularly  as  to  the  Times  in  London ; 
reporting  the  quotations  of  the  Stock  Exchange,  the 
debates  in  Parliament,  and  all  the  news  of  home. 
But  what  was  far  more  exciting,  was  the  tidings  of 
the  great  events  transpiring  on  the  Continent.  While 
the  expedition  had  been  preparing  in  England,  a  war 
had  broken  out  of  tremendous  magnitude.  Austria, 
Prussia,  and  Italy  had  rushed  into  the  field.  Armies, 
such  as  had  not  met  since  the  fatal  day  of  Leipsic, 
stood  in  battle  array,  and  the  thunder  of  war  was 
echoing  and  reechoing  among  the  mountains  of  Bohe- 
mia. Amid  these  convulsions  the  fleet  set  sail ;  but  it 
was  still  linked  with  the  nations  which  it  left  behind, 
and  received  tidings  from  day  to  day.  What  great 
events  were  thus  heralded  to  them  in  mid-ocean  may 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       371 

be  seen  by  a  few  items  gleaned  from  the  numerous 
despatches : 

"  Saturday  evening,  July  14th. — General  Cialdini  is 
moving  upon  Eovigo  with  an  army  of  one  hundred 
thousand  men  and  two  hundred  guns.  The  Austrians 
have  evacuated  the  whole  country  between  the  Mincio 
and  Adige."  A  day  or  two  later : 

"  Cialdini  has  occupied  Padua,  twenty- three  miles 
from  Yenice,  on  the  railway  connecting  that  city  with 
the  Quadrilateral,  and  the  Austrians  are  shut  up  in 
Venice." 

"  Tuesday,  17th. — Prussians  had  successful  engage- 
ment before  Olmiitz  yesterday ;  captured  six  guns. 
Further  fighting  expected  to-day.  Austrians  with- 
drawing from  Moldavia  toward  Vienna." "Conflict 

between  Prussians  and  Federals.  Prussians  complete- 
ly victorious.  Federals  evacuating  Frankfort  and 
Prussians  marching  there." 

"  Thursday,  19th. — Prussians  repeating  victories,  and 
gaining  adhesions  from  small  States.  The  main  army 
within  fifty  miles  of  Vienna — have  cut  the  railway 
to  Vienna.  Austrian  army  between  Prussians  and 
Vienna,  under  Archduke,  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  men.  Money  and  archives  removed  from 
Vienna  to  Comorn." 

"  20th. — Frankfort  occupied  by  the  Prussians,  who 
are  marching  on  Vienna.  Yesterday,  Italian  fleet, 


372'       HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

consisting  of  iron-clad  vessels  and  several  steamers, 
opened  attack  on  Island  of  Lissa  on  the  coast  of  Dal- 
matia — result  not  known."  The  next  day  it  is  report- 
ed thus  :  "  Severe  naval  engagement  off  Lissa.  Aus- 
trians  claim  the  victory.  Sunk  one  Italian  iron-clad, 
run  down  another,  blew  up  a  third." 

"  July  21st. — Prussians  crossed  river  ;  march  near 
Holitzon,  Hungary.  Austria  accepted  proposal  of 
armistice.  Prussia  will  abstain  from  hostilities  for 
five  days,  during  which  Austria  will  have  to  notify 
acceptance  of  preliminaries.  A  long  letter  published 
from  the  King  of  Prussia  to  the  Queen,  giving  account 
of  battle  of  Koniggratz." 

The  interest  excited  by  such  news  may  be  imagined, 
coming  while  the  events  were  yet  fresh.  Twice  a  day 
was  the  bulletin  set  up  on  the  deck,  and  was  surround- 
ed by  an  eager  crowd  reading  what  had  transpired 
on  the  Continent  but  a  few  hours  before.  Nor  was. 
the  intelligence  confined  to  the  Great  Eastern.  By 
an  arrangement  of  signals,  more  complete  than  ever 
was  used  in  a  squadron  before,  the  news  was  telegraph- 
ed to  the  convoy.  All  the  ships  had  been  furnished 
with  experienced  signal-men  by  the  Admiralty.  The 
system  adopted  was  that  known  as  Colomb's  Flash 
Signals,  by  which,  even  in  the  darkest  night,  messages 
could  easily  be  flashed  to  a  distance  of  several  miles. 
Thus  all  the  ships  were  supplied  with  news  twice  a 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.    '  378 

day,  and  the  great  military  events  in  Europe  were  ells- 
cussed  in  every  cabin  as  eagerly  as  in  the  clubs  of 
London. 

"  Sunday,  July  22d. —  Still  success  to  record.  A 
briglit,  clear  day,  with  a  fresh  and  invigorating  breeze 
from  the  north-west.  Cable  going  out  with  unerring 
smoothness,  at  the  rate  of  six  miles  an  hour.  There 
has  been  great  improvement  in  the  insulation.  This 
remarkable  improvement  is  attributable  to  the  greatly 
decreased  temperature  of,  and  pressure  on,  the  cable 
in  the  sea.  This  is  a  very  satisfactory  result  to  Mr. 
Willoughby  Smith.  Signals,  too,  come  every  hour 
more  distinctly.  This  morning  the  breeze  freshened. 
We  are  now  about  thirty  miles  to  the  southward  of 
the  place  where  the  cable  parted  on  the  second  of 
August,  1865,  having  then  paid  out  one  thousand  two 
hundred  and  thirteen  miles.  Captain  Anderson  read 
divine  service  in  the  dining  saloon. 

"Monday. — Between  six  and  seven  P.M.  yesterday 
we  passed  over  the  deepest  part  of  our  course.  There 
was  no  additional  strain  on  the  dynamometer,  which 
indicated  from  ten  to  fourteen  hundred,  the  cable  go- 
ing out  with  its  accustomed  regularity.  The  wind 
still  fresh  from  the  north-west.  During  the  night  it 
went  round  to  the  south-west,  and  this  morning  there 
is  a  long  roll  from  the  southward. 

"  At  forty-six  minutes  past  eleven  A.M.,  Mr.  Cyrus 


374       HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

Field  sent  a  message  to  Yalentia,  requesting  Mr.  Glass 
to  obtain  the  latest  news  from  Egypt,  India,  and 
China,  and  other  distant  countries,  so  that  on  our  ar- 
rival at  Heart's  Content  we  shall  be  able  to  transmit  it 
to  the  principal  cities  of  the  United  States.  In  just 
eight  minutes  he  had  a  reply  in  these  words :  '  Your 
message  received,  and  is  in  London  by  this.'  Out- 
side the  telegraph  room  there  is  a  placard  put  up,  on 
which  is  posted  the  news  shortly  after  its  arrival,  and 
groups  of  the  crew  may  be  seen  reading  it,  just  as  we 
see  a  crowd  at  a  newspaper  office  in  London.  Mr. 
Dudley,  the  artist,  has  made  a  very  spirited  sketch  of 
'Jack'  reading  tho  contents  of  the  morning  tele- 
graphic news  of  the  Times — Printing  House  Square 
being  distant  about  one  thousand  six  hundred  miles, 
^n  board  the  Great  Eastern,  ship  of  luxury,  he  has 
been  supplied  with  the  latest  intelligence  from  the 
seat  of  war  twice  a  day.  How  he  will  grumble  when 
he  gets  ashore  !  He  is  not  going  to  pay  a  pound  a 
word  for  news,  but  his  newspapers  will  supply  it  to 
him,  and  he  does  not  know  or  care  what  it  costs. 
But  what  a  sum  has  been  spent  in  Atlantic  tele- 
graphs !  It  cannot  now  fall  short  of  two  millions 
and  a  half,  or  over  twelve  millions  of  dollars.  More 
millions  will  be  found  if  it  shall  be  practically  proved 
that  America  can  permanently  talk  to  England,  and 
through  her  to  the  eastern  hemisphere,  and  England 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGA A.PH.       375 

to  America  by  this  ocean  wire.  At  a  quarter  to 
twelve  to-day  but  two  hundred  and  fifteen  miles  of 
cable  remained  to  be  paid  out  of  the  fore  tank. 
Tomorrow  night  we  hope  to  see  it  empty — then,  for  a 

small  supply  from  the  main  tank,  and  then but, 

hopeful  though  we  are,  let  us  not  anticipate. 

"  Tuesday. — Breakfast  at  eight.  Lunch  at  one.  Din- 
ner at  six.  Tea  at  eight.  Five  hundred  and  two 
souls  who  live  on  board  this  huge  ship  following  their 
prescribed  occupations.  Cable  going  out  merrily. 
Electrical  tests  and  signals  perfect,  and  this  is  the  his- 
tory of  what  has  taken  place  from  noon  yesterday  to 
noon  to-day.  May  we  have  three  days  more  of  such 
delightful  monotony  !  It  rained  very  hard  during  yes- 
terday evening,  and  as  we  approach  the  banks  of  New- 
foundland we  get  thick  and  hazy  weather." 

The  latter  part  of  the  voyage  did  not  fulfil  in  all 
respects  the  promise  of  the  first.  The  bright  skies 
were  gone  ;  and  instead  perpetual  fog  hung  over  the 
water,  while  often  the  clouds  poured  down  their  floods. 
Thus  the  diary  continues : 

"  Wednesday. — Fog  and  thick  rain— just  the  weather 
to  expect  on  approaching  the  banks  of  Newfoundland. 
The  convoy  keep  their  position,  and  though  sometimes 
the  fog  hides  the  ships  from  our  view,  yet  we  know 
where  they  are  by  their  signal-whistles— two  from  the 
Terrible,  three  from  the  Medway,  and  four  from  the 


876       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

Albany,  which  are  replied  to  by  the  prolonged  single 
shriek  from  our  whistle.  At  fifty-two  minutes  past 
one,  Greenwich  time,  (ship's  time,  forty-five  minutes 
past  ten  P.M.,  last  night,)  the  fore  tank  being  nearly 
empty,  preparations  were  made  for  passing  the  bight 
of  the  cable  into  the  main  tank.  At  fifteen  minutes 
past  two  all  the  jockey- wheels  of  the  paying-out 
machinery  were  up,  and  the  brakes  released.  Twenty- 
three  minutes  past  two  the  bight  was  passed  steadily 
and  cautiously  by  the  cable  hands  outside  of  the 
trough  to  the  main  tank,  and  at  thirty-five  minutes 
past  two  the  splice  went  over  the  stern  in  1542.8 
fathoms.  By  arrangement  with  Sir  James  Hope,  the 
admiral  of  the  North- American  station,  who  has  re- 
ceived instructions  from  the  Admiralty  to  give  the 
present  expedition  every  assistance  in  his  power,  a 
frigate  or  sloop  will  be  placed  in  longitude  48°,  25', 
52*,  which  is  just  thirty  miles  from  the  entrance  of 
Trinity  Bay,  and  sixty  from  Heart's  Content.  She 
will  probably  hang  on  by  a  kedge  in  that  position, 
which  shows  the  '  fair  way '  right  up  the  bay ;  and  if 
it  be  clear,  we  ought  to  see  her  about  daybreak  on 
Friday  morning.  The  fog  was  very  thick  this  morn- 
ing, but  occasionally  lifts ;  as  long  as  the  wind  is  from 
south-west  we  cannot  expect  clear  weather." 

As  the  week  drew  on,  it  was  evident  that  they  were 
approaching  the  end  of  their  voyage.     By  Thursday 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       377 

they  had  passed  the  great  depths  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
were  off  soundings.  Besides  their  daily  observations, 
there  were  many  signs,  well  known  to  mariners,  that 
they  were  near  the  coast.  There  were  the  sea-birds, 
and  they  could  almost  snuff  the  smell  of  the  land, 
such  as  once  greeted  the  sharp  senses  of  Columbus, 
and  made  him  sure  that  he  was  floating  to  some  un- 
discovered shore.  Captain  Anderson  had  timed  his 
departure  so  that  he  should  approach  the  American 
coast  at  the  fall  moon ;  but  for  the  last  two  or  three 
nights,  as  the  round  orb  rose  behind  them,  banks  of 
cloud  hung  so  heavily  upon  the  water,  that  the  moon- 
light only  faintly  gleamed  through  the  vaporous  air, 
and  the  fleet  seemed  like  the  phantom  ships  of  the 
Ancient  Mariner,  drifting  on  through  fog  and  mist. 

"  Thursday. — All  day  yesterday  it  was  as  '  thick  as 
mustard.'  We  have  had  now  forty-eight  hours  of  fog. 
Though  it  lifted  a  little  this  morning,  at  five  A.M., 
it  still  looks  like  more  of  it.  Captain  Anderson  sig- 
nalled to  the  Albany,  at  fifteen  minutes  past  ten  last 
night,  to  start  at  daybreak,  and  proceed  to  discover 
the  station  ship,  and  report  us  at  hand.  Should  she 
fail  to  find  her,  then  to  try  and  make  the  land  and 
guide  us  up  Trinity  Bay.  Another  signal  was  sent 
at  half-past  twelve  to  the  effect  that  the  Terrible  and 
Medway  would  be  sent  ahead  to  meet  the  Albany 
and  establish  a  line  to  lead  us  in  even  with  a  fog. 


878       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

The  Albany  started  at  half-past  three.     At  forty-five 
minutes  past  four,  Greenwich  time,  the  cable  engineer 
in  charge  took  one  weight  off  each  brake  of  the  pay- 
ing-out machinery.     At  forty  minutes  past  seven  all 
weights  taken  off,  the  assumed  depth  being  three  hun- 
dred fathoms.    The  indicated  strain  on  the  dynamome- 
ter gradually  decreasing.  Speed  of  ship  five  knots.  We 
are  going  to  try  and  pick  up  the  cable  of  1865  in  two 
thousand  five  hundred  fathoms,  (and  we  mean  to  suc- 
ceed too ;)  therefore  should  the  cable  we  are  now  pay- 
ing out  part,  it  can  be  understood  how  easy  it  would 
be  to  raise  it  from  a  depth  of  three  hundred  fathoms. 
At  fifty -five  minutes  past  eight  we  signalled  to  the 
Terrible  to  sound,  and  received  a  reply,  one  hundred 
and  sixty  fathoms.     At  half-past  eleven  we  informed 
her  that  when  at  the  buoy  off  Heart's  Content  she 
should  have  her  paddle-box  boat  and  two  cutters  ready 
to  be  alongside  immediately,  for  holding  the  bight  of 
the  cable  during  the  splice  and  laying  the  shore  end. 
The  Medway  was  told  at  the  same  time  to  prepare 
two  five-inch  ropes,  and  two  large  mushroom  anchors, 
with  fifty  fathoms  of  chain,  for  anchoring  during  the 
splice  in  one  hundred  and  seventy  fathoms  of  water, 
and  we  intimated  to  her  that  when  inside  of  Trinity 
Bay  we  should  signal  for  two  boats  to  take  hands  on 
board  her  for  shore  end.     News  of  to-day,  telegram 
from  Mr.  Glass  in  reply  to  one  from  Mr.  Canning: 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       379 

'I  congratulate  you  all  most  sincerely  on  your  arrival 
in  one  hundred  and  thirty  fathoms.  I  hope  nothing 
will  interfere  to  mar  the  hitherto  brilliant  success,  and 
that  the  cable  will  be  landed  to-morrow.'  " 

As  the  voyage  is  about  to  end,  we  may  here  give  the 
distances  run  from  day  to  day,  which  show  a  remarka- 
ble uniformity  of  progress : 

Distance  Run.    Cable  Paid  Out 

Saturday,  fourteenth, 108  115 

Sunday,  fifteenth, 128  139 

Monday,  sixteenth, 115  137 

Tuesday,  seventeenth, 117  138 

Wednesday,  eighteenth, 104  125 

Thursday,  nineteenth, 112  129 

Friday,  twentieth, 117  127 

Saturday,  twenty-first, 121  136 

Sunday,  twenty-second, 123  133 

Monday,  twenty-third, 121  138 

Tuesday,  twenty-fourth, 120  135 

Wednesday,  twenty-fifth, 119  130 

Thursday,  twenty-sixth, 128  134 

Friday,  twenty-seventh, 100  104 

This  table  shows  the  speed  of  the  ship  to  have  been 
exactly  according  to  the  "  running  time"  fixed  before 
she  left  England.  On  the  last  voyage  it  was  thought 
that  she  had  once  or  twice  run  too  fast,  and  thus  ex- 
posed the  cable  to  danger.  It  was,  therefore,  decided 
to  go  slowly  but  surely.  Holding  her  back  to  this 


380        HISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

moderate  pace,  her  average  speed,  from  the  time  the 
splice  was  made  till  they  saw  land,  was  a  little  less 
than  five  nautical  miles  an  hour,  while  the  cable  was 
paid  out  at  an  average  of  not  quite  five  and  a  half 
miles.  Thus  the  total  slack  was  about  eleven  per 
cent,  showing  that  the  cable  was  laid  almost  in  a 
straight  line,  allowing  for  the  swells  and  hollows  in 
the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

"Friday,  July  27th. — Shortly  after  two  P.M.,  yester- 
day, two  ships,  which  were  soon  made  out  to  be 
steamers,  were  seen  to  the  westward ;  and  the  Terrible, 
steaming  on  ahead,  in  about  an  hour  signalled  to  us 
that  H.M.S.  Niger  was  one  of  them,  accompanied  by 
the  Albany.  The  Niger,  Captain  Bruce,  sent  a  boat 
to  the  Terrible  as  soon  as  he  came  up  with  her.  The 
Albany  shortly  afterward  took  up  her  position  on  our 
starboard  quarter,  and  signalled  that  she  spoke  the 
Niger  at  noon,  bearing  E.  by  N.,  and  that  the  Lily 
was  anchored  at  the  station  in  the  entrance  of  Trinity 
Bay,  as  arranged  with  the  Admiral.  The  Albany 
also  reported  that  she  had  passed  an  iceberg  about 
sixty  feet  high.  At  twenty  minutes  after  four  P.M., 
the  Niger  came  on  our  port  side,  quite  close,  and  Cap- 
tain Bruce,  sending  the  crew  to  the  rigging  and  man- 
ning the  yards,  gave  us  three  cheers,  which  were  hear- 
tily returned  by  the  Great  Eastern.  She  then  steamed 
ahead  toward  Trinity  Bay.  The  Albany  was  signalled 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       381 

to  go  on  immediately  to  Heart's  Content,  clear  the  north- 
east side  of  the  harbor  of  shipping,  and  place  a  boat 
with  a  red  flag  for  Captain  Anderson  to  steer  to,  for 
anchorage.  Just  before  dinner  we  saw  on  the  south- 
ern horizon,  distant  about  ten  miles,  an  iceberg,  prob- 
ably the  one  which  the  Albany  met  with.  It  was  ap- 
parently about  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  height.  The  fog 
came  on  very  thick  about  eight  P.M.,  and  'between 
that  and  ten  we  were  constantly  exchanging  guns  and 
burning  blue  lights  with  the  Terrible,  which,  with  the 
Niger,  went  in  search  of  the  Lily,  station  ship.  The 
Terrible  being  signalled  to  come  up  and  take  her  posi- 
tion, informed  us  they  had  made  the  Lily  out,  and 
that  she  bore  then  about  E.N.E.  distant  four  miles. 
Later  in  the  night  Captain  Commerell  said  that  if 
Captain  Anderson  would  stop  the  Great  Eastern,  he 
would  send  the  surveyor  Mr.  Eobinson,  E.  N.,  who 
came  out  in  the  Niger,  on  board  of  us,  and  about 
three  the  engines  were  slowed,  and  the  Terrible 
shortly  afterwards  came  alongside  with  that  officer. 
Catalina  light,  at  the  entrance  of  Trinity  Bay,  had 
been  made  out  three  hours  before  this,  and  the  loom 
of  the  coast  had  also  been  seen.  Fog  still  prevailing  ! 
According  to  Mr.  Eobinson's  account,  if  they  got  one 
clear  day  in  seven  at  the  entrance  of  Trinity  Bay, 
they  considered  themselves  fortunate.  Here  we  are 
now,  (six  A.M.,)  within  ten  miles  of  Heart's  Content, 


382        HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH. 

and  we  can  scarcely  see  more  than  a  ship's  length. 
The  Niger,  however,  is  ahead,  and  her  repeated  guns 
tell  us  where  we  are  with  accuracy.  Good  fortune  fol- 
lows us,  and  scarcely  has  eight  o'clock  arrived  when 
the  massive  curtain  of  fog  raises  itself  gradually  from 
both  shores  of  Trinity  Bay,  disclosing  to  us  the  en- 
trance of  Heart's  Content,  the  Albany  making  for  the 
harbor,  the  Margaretta  Stevenson,  surveying  vessel, 
steaming  out  to  meet  us,  the  prearranged  pathway  all 
marked  with  buoys  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Kerr,  R.N.,  and  a 
whole  fleet  of  fishing  boats  fishing  at  the  entrance. 

"We  could  now  plainly  see  that  Heart's  Content,  so 
far  as  its  capabilities  permitted,  was  prepared  to  wel- 
come us.  The  British  and  American  flags  floated 
from  the  church  and  telegraph  station  and  other 
buildings.  We  had  dressed  ship,  fired  a  salute,  and 
given  three  cheers,  and  Captain  Commerell  of  H.M.S. 
Terrible  was  soon  on  board  to  congratulate  us  on 
our  success.  At  nine  o'clock,  ship's  time,  just  as  we 
had  cut  the  cable  and  made  arrangements  for  the 
Medway  to  lay  the  shore- end,  a  message  arrived  giv- 
ing us  the  concluding  words  of  a  leader  in  this  morn- 
ing's  Times  :  "It  is  a  great  work,  a  glory  to  our  age 
and  nation,  and  the  men  who  have  achieved  it  de- 
serve to  be  honored  among  the  benefactors  of  their 
race." — "  Treaty  of  peace  signed  between  Prussia  and 
Austria !"  It  was  now  time  for  the  chief  engineer, 


HISTOEY    OF    THE    ATLANTIC    TELEGKAPH.      383 

Mr.  Canning,  to  make  the  necessary  preparations  for 
splicing  on  board  the  Medwaj.  Accompanied  by  Mr. 
Gooch,  M.P.,  Mr.  Clifford,  Mr.  Willoughby  Smith,  and 
Messrs.  Temple  and  Deane,  he  went  on  board,  the  Terri- 
ble and  Niger  having  sent  their  paddle-box  boats  and 
cutters  to  assist.  Shortly  afterward  the  Great  Eastern 
steamed  into  the  harbor  and  anchored  on  the  north-east 
side,  and  was  quickly  surrounded  by  boats  laden  with 
visitors.  Mr.  Cyrus  Field  had  come  on  shore  before 
the  Great  Eastern  had  left  the  offing,  with  a  view  of 
telegraphing  to  St.  John's  to  hire  a  vessel  to  repair  the 
cable  unhappily  broken  between  Cape  Kay,  in  New- 
foundland, and  Cape  North,  in  Breton  Island.  Before  a 
couple  of  hours  the  shore  end  will  be  landed,  and  it 
is  impossible  to  conceive  a  finer  day  for  effecting  this 
our  final  operation.  Even  here,  people  can  scarcely 
realize  the  fact  that  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Cable  has 
been  laid.  To-morrow,  however,  Heart's  Content  will 
awaken  to  the  fact  that  it  is  a  highly  favored  place  in 
the  world's  esteem,  the  western  landing-place  of  that 
marvel  of  electric  communication  with  the  Eastern 
hemisphere,  which  is  now  happily,  and  we  hope 
finally,  established." 

This  simple  record,  so  modestly  termed  the  Diary 
of  the  Expedition,  tells  the  story  of  this  memorable 
voyage  in  a  way  that  needs  no  embellishment.  But 
if  from  the  ship's  deck  we  transfer  ourselves  to  the 


364     HISTORY    OF    THE    ATLANTIC    TELEGRAPH. 

shore,  we  may  get  a  new  impression  of  this  closing 
scene.  We  can  well  believe  the  sensation  of  wonder 
and  almost  of  awe,  on  the  morning  when  the  ships 
entered  that  little  harbor  of  Newfoundland.  In  Eng- 
land the  progress  of  the  expedition  was  known  from 
day  to  day,  but  on  this  side  of  the  ocean  all  was  un- 
certainty. Some  had  gone  to  Heart's  Content,  hoping 
to  witness  the  arrival  of  the  fleet,  but  not  so  many  as 
the  year  before,  for  the  memory  of  the  last  failure  was 
too  fresh,  and  they  feared  another  disappointment. 
But  still  a  faithful  few  were  there,  who  kept  their 
daily  watch.  The  correspondents  of  the  American 
papers  report  only  a  long  and  anxious  suspense,  till 
that  morning  when  the  first  ship  was  seen  in  the  off- 
ing. As  they  look  toward  her,  she  comes  nearer — 
and  see,  there  is  another  and  another.  And  now  the 
hull  of  the  Great  Eastern  looms  up  all-glorious  in  that 
morning  sky.  They  are  coming !  Instantly  all  is 
wild  excitement  on  shore.  Boats  put  off  to  row  to- 
ward the  fleet.  The  Albany  is  the  first  to  round  the 
point  and  enter  the  Bay.  The  Terrible  is  close  be- 
hind. The  Medway  stops  an  hour  or  two  to  join  on 
the  heavy  shore  end,  while  the  Great  Eastern,  gliding 
calmly  in  as  if  she  had  done  nothing  remarkable, 
drops  her  anchor  in  front  of  the  telegraph  house,  hav- 
ing trailed  behind  her  a  chain  of  two  thousand  miles, 
to  bind  the  Old  World  to  the  New. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    ATLANTIC    TELEGRAPH.      385 

That  same  afternoon,  as  soon  as  the  shore  end 
was  landed,  Captain  Anderson  and  the  officers  of  the 
fleet  went  in  a  body  to  the  little  church  in  Heart's 
Content,  to  render  thanks  for  the  success  of  the  expe- 
dition. A  sermon  was  preached  on  the  text,  "  There 
shall  be  no  more  sea,"  and  all  joined  in  the  sublime 
prayers  and  thanksgivings  of  the  Church  of  England. 
Thus  the  voyage  ended  as  it  began.  It  left  the  shores 
of  Ireland  with  prayers  wafted  after  it  as  a  benedic- 
tion. And  now,  safely  landed  on  the  shores  of  the 
New  "World,  this  gallant  company,  like  Columbus  and 
his  companions,  make  it  their  first  thought  to  render 
homage  to  that  Being  who  had  borne  them  safely 
across  the  deep. 

Although  the  expedition  reached  Newfoundland  on 
Friday,  the  twenty-seventh,  yet,  as  the  cable  across 
the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  was  broken,  the  news  was 
not  received  in  New- York  till  the  twenty-ninth.  It 
was  early  Sunday  morning  before  the  Sabbath  bells 
had  rung  their  call  to  prayer,  that  the  tidings  came. 
The  first  announcement  was  brief:  "  Heart's  Content, 
July  27. — "We  arrived  here  at  nine  o'clock  this  morn- 
ing. All  well.  Thank  God,  the  cable  is  laid,  and  is 
in  perfect  working  order.  CYRUS  W.  FIELD." 

Soon  followed  the  despatch  to  the  Associated  Press, 
giving  the  details  of  the  voyage,  and  ending  with  a 
just  tribute  to  the  skill  and  devotion  of  all  who  had 


386     HISTORY    OF    THE    ATLANTIC    TELEGRAPH. 

contributed  to  its  success.  Said  Mr.  Eield :  "  I  can- 
not find  words  suitable  to  convey  my  admiration  for 
the  men  who  have  so  ably  conducted  the  nautical, 
engineering,  and  electrical  departments  of  this  enter- 
prise, amidst  difficulties  which  must  be  seen  to  be  ap- 
preciated. In  fact,  all  on  board  of  the  telegraph  fleet, 
and  all  connected  with  the  enterprise,  have  done  their 
best  to  have  the  cable  made  and  laid  in  a  perfect  con- 
dition ;  and  He  who  rules  the  winds  and  the  waves 
has  crowned  their  united  efforts  with  perfect  suc- 
cess." 

Other  despatches  followed  in  quick  succession,  giv- 
ing the  latest  events  of  the  war  in  Europe,  which 
startled  the  public  just  reading  news  a  fortnight  old. 
All  this  confirmed  the  great  triumph,  and  filled  the 
hearts  of  many  with  wonder  and  gratitude  that  Sab- 
bath day,  as  they  went  up  to  the  house  of  God  and 
rendered  thanks  to  Him  who  is  Lord  of  the  earth 
and  sea. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    ATLANTIC    TELEGRAPH.      887 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  SHIPS  RETURN  TO  MID-OCEAN  TO  SEARCH  FOR  THE  CABLE  LOST 
THE  YEAR  BEFORE.  MODE  OF  DRAGGING  IN  THE  DEEP  SEA.  RE- 
PEATED ATTEMPTS  AND  FAILURES.  GRAPNEL  CAST  THIRTY  TIMES. 
CABLE  FINALLY  RECOVERED  AND  COMPLETED  TO  NEATFOUNDLAND. 
CONCLUSION. 

THE  little  harbor  in  Newfoundland  that  bears  the 
gentle  name  of  Heart's  Content,  is  a  sheltered  nook 
where  ships  may  ride  at  anchor,  safe  from  the  storms 
of  the  ocean.  It  is  but  an  inlet  from  that  great  arm 
of  the  sea  known  as  Trinity  Bay,  which  is  sixty  or 
seventy  miles  long,  and  twenty  miles  broad.  On  the 
beach  is  a  small  village  of  some  sixty  houses,  most  of 
which  are  the  humble  dwellings  of  those  hardy  men  who 
vex  the  Northern  seas  with  their  fisheries.  The  place 
was  never  heard  of  outside  of  Newfoundland  till  1864, 
when  Mr.  Field,  sailing  up  Trinity  Bay  in  the  survey- 
ing steamer  Margaretta  Stevenson,  Captain  Orlebar, 
R.  1ST.,  in  search  of  a  place  for  the  landing  of  the  ocean 
cable,  fixed  upon  this  secluded  spot.  The  old  landing 
of  1858  was  at  the  Bay  of  Bull's  Arm,  at  the  head  of 
Trinity  Bay,  twenty  miles  above.  Heart's  Content  was 
chosen  now  because  its  waters  are  still  and  deep,  so  that 


388         HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

a  cable  skirting  the  north,  side  of  the  banks  of  New- 
foundland can  be  brought  in  deep  water  almost  till  it 
touches  the  shore.  All  around  the  land  rises  to  pine- 
crested  heights  ;  and  here  the  telegraphic  fleet,  after 
its  memorable  voyage,  lay  in  quiet,  under  the  shadow 
of  the  encircling  hills. 

But  though  their  voyage  was  ended,  they  were  not 
idle.  Those  few  days  in  port  were  quite  as  busy  as 
the  days  at  sea.  Having  crossed  the  Atlantic,  the 
first  thing  was  to  open  communication  with  the  great 
States  and  cities  of  the  Union.  And  now  Mr.  Field 
was  extremely  mortified  to  find  that  there  was  a 
large  gap  in  the  line  this  side  of  the  ocean.  His 
first  question  to  the  Superintendent,  who  came  out 
in  a  boat  to  meet  him,  was  in  regard  to  the  cable 
across  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  which  had  been  in- 
terrupted the  year  before;  and  it  was  a  bitter  pang 
to  hear  that  it  lay  still  broken,  so  that  a  message  which 
came  from  Ireland  in  a  moment  of  time,  was  delayed 
twenty-four  hours  in  its  way  to  New- York.  Of 
course  the  public  grew  impatient,  and  there  were 
many  sneers  at  the  want  of  foresight  which  had  failed 
to  provide  against  such  a  contingency  ;  and,  as  he  was 
the  one  chiefly  known  in  connection  with  the  enter- 
prise, these  reproaches  fell  upon  him.  He  did  not 
tell  the  public,  what  was  the  truth,  that  he  had  antici- 
pated this  very  trouble  long  ago,  and  entreated  his 


HISTOHY   OF  THE   ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       S89 

associates  to  be  prepared  for  it.  Months  before 
he  left  for  England,  he  urged  upon  the  Company 
in  New-York  the  necessity  of  rebuilding  their  lines 
in  Newfoundland,  which  had  been  standing  over 
ten  years,  and  of  repairing  the  old  cable,  and  also 
laying  a  new  one  across  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 
But  this  would  cost  a  very  large  sum  of  money,  and 
as  their  faith  and  purses  had  been  sorely  tried  by 
repeated  disasters,  they  were  not  willing  to  spend 
so  heavily  in  the  uncertainty  of  the  future.  They 
wished,  very  naturally,  to  see  the  result  of  this  new 
expedition,  before  advancing  further  capital.  "We  do 
not  blame  them,  but  only  mention  the  fact  to  show 
that  Mr.  Field  had  foreseen  this  very  thing,  and  en- 
deavored to  guard  against  it. 

But  regrets  were  idle.  What  could  he  do  to  repair 
the  injury?  "Is  there  a  steamer,"  he  asked,  "  to  be 
had  in  these  waters?"  "The  Bloodhound  is  at  St. 
John's."  "Telegraph  instantly  to  charter  her  to  go 
around  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  fish  up  the 
old  cable  and  repair  it.  But  that  may  take  several 
weeks.  Is  there  nothing  else  that  can  serve  in  the 
mean  time  to  carry  dispatches  across  the  Gulf  ?"  "There 
is  a  little  steamer,  called  the  Dauntless."  "  Well,  tele- 
graph for  her  too.  Secure  her  at  all  hazards;  only 
see  that  the  work  is  done."  All  this  was  the  work  of 
a  few  minutes.  The  answers  came  back  quickly,  and 


390      HISTORY    OF    THE    ATLANTIC    TELEGRAPH. 

in  a  day  or  two  came  the  steamers  themselves.     The 
arrangement  was  immediately  carried  out.    The  Daunt- 
less took  her  place  in  the  Gulf,  where  she  made  her 
regular  trips  from  Port  au  Basque,  in  Newfoundland,  to 
Aspee  Bay,  in  Cape  Breton,  keeping  up  daily  commu- 
nication with  the  States.     The  Bloodhound,  which  had 
a  more  difficult  task,  first  took  on  board  eleven  miles 
of  cable  from  the  Great  Eastern,  to  repair  that  which 
was  broken.    The  expedition  was  put  in  charge  of  Mr. 
A.  M.  Mackay,  the  indefatigable  Superintendent  of  the 
Company  in  Newfoundland,  who  has  had  the  care  of 
their  lines  for  ten  years,  and  has  given  constant  proof 
of  his  diligence  and  fidelity.    He  sailed  for  Aspee  Bay, 
and  made  short  work  of  the  business.     In  a  few  days 
he  had  dragged  the  Gulf  and  raised  the  cable,  which 
he  found  had  been  broken  by  an  anchor,  in  water  sev- 
enty fathoms  deep,  a  few  miles  from  shore.     This  was 
spliced  out  with  a  portion  of  the  new  cable,  and  the 
whole  was  as  perfect  as  ever,  thus  giving  a  fresh  proof 
that  cables  well  made  are  likely  to  be  permanent,  if 
not  indestructible. 

As  soon  as  communication  was  opened  with  New- 
York,  and  other  cities,  congratulations  poured  in  from 
every  quarter.  Friendly  messages  were  exchanged — 
as  eight  years  before — between  the  sovereign  of  Eng- 
land and  the  head  of  the  Great  Eepublic.  The  Pres- 
ident also,  and  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  sent 


HISTOEY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH.       391 

their  congratulations  to  Mr.  Field — greetings  that 
were  repeated  from  the  most  distant  States.  Among 
others  was  a  message  from  San  Francisco,  which  was 
put  into  his  hand  almost  at  the  same  moment  with 
one  from  M.  de  Lesseps,  dated  at  Alexandria  in 
Egypt !  "What  a  meeting  and  mingling  of  voices 
was  this,  when  a  winged  salutation  flying  over  the 
tops  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  reached  the  same  ear 
with  a  message  which  had  been  whispered  along  the 
Mediterranean  and  under  the  Atlantic.  "Well  might 
it  seem  as  if  the  ends  of  the  earth  were  coming  to- 
gether, when  the  farthest  East  thus  touched  the  far- 
thest West — the  most  ancient  of  kingdoms  answering 
to  the  new-born  empire  of  the  Pacific. 

While  the  Great  Eastern  was  lying  in  the  harbor  of 
Heart's  Content,  she  was  overrun  with  visitors.  The 
news  of  her  arrival  had  spread  over  the  island,  and 
from  far  and  near  the  people  flocked  to  see  her.  Over 
the  hills  they  came  on  foot  and  on  horseback,  and  in 
wagons  and  carts  of  every  description ;  and  from  along 
the  shore  in  boats  and  fishing-smacks,  and  sloops  and 
schooners.  Thus  they  came  from  the  most  remote 
parts  of  the  island — a  distance  of  300  miles — and 
even  from  the  province  of  New- Brunswick.  Several 
parties  made  the  excursion  in  steamers  from  St. 
John's.  Thus  for  two  weeks  the  little  harbor  was 
alive  with  the  many  and  strange  craft  that  brought  the 


392        111STOIIY    Ul''   THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH. 

people  to  see  that  great  sight.  They  climbed  up  the 
sides  of  the  ship,  and  wandered  for  hours  through 
its  spacious  rooms  and  long  passages.  All  were  wel- 
comed with  true  and  hearty  sailor  courtesy. 

But  the  Great  Eastern  was  not  here  on  a  voyage  of 
pleasure,  nor  did  all  these  receptions  delay  for  an  hour 
the  preparations  for  her  departure.  She  had  another 
work  on  hand  greater  than  before.  Though  she  had 
done  enough  to  be  "  laid  up  "  for  a  year,  still  she  had 
one  more  test  of  her  prowess — to  recover  the  cable  of 
1865,  which  had  been  lost  in  the  middle  of  the  Atlan- 
tic. So  eager  were  all  for  this  second  trial  of  their 
strength,  that  in  less  than  five  days  two  of  the  ships 
— the  Albany  and  the  Terrible — the  vanguard  of  the 
telegraphic  fleet,  were  on  their  way  back  to  mid-ocean. 
Though  it  was  only  Friday,  the  27th  of  July,  that  they 
reached  land,  they  left  early  "Wednesday  morning,  the 
first  day  of  August.  The  Great  Eastern  was  detained 
a  week  longer.  She  had  to  lay  in  immense  supplies 
of  coal.  Anticipating  this  want,  six  ships  had  been 
dispatched  from  Cardiff,  in  Wales,  weeks  before,  to 
await  the  arrival  of  the  fleet.  One  of  these  foundered 
at  sea;  the  others  arrived  out  safely,  and  hardly  had  the 
Great  Eastern  cast  anchor  before  they  were  alongside, 
ready  to  fill  her  bunkers.  So  ample  was  the  provision, 
that,  when  she  went  to  sea  a  few  days  after,  she  had 
nearly  eight  thousand  tons  of  coal  on  board. 


I1ISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAP.          393 

At  the  same  time  she  had  to  receive  some  six  hun- 
dred miles  of  the  cable  of  1865,  which  had  been  ship- 
ped from  England  in  the  Medway.  The  latter  was 
now  brought  alongside,  and  the  whole  was  transferred 
into  the  main  tank  of  the  Great  Eastern,  from  which  it 
was  to  be  paid  out  in  case  the  lost  end  were  recovered. 

At  length  all  these  preparations  were  completed,  and, 
on  Thursday,  the  9th  of  August,  the  Great  Eastern  and 
the  Medway  put  to  sea.  The  Governor  of  Newfound- 
land, who  had  come  around  from  St.  John's  and  been 
received  with  the  honors  due  to  his  rank,  accompanied 
them  in  the  Lily  down  the  broad  expanse  of  Trinity 
Bay,  and  then  bore  away  for  St.  John's,  while  the 
Great  Eastern  and  Medway  kept  on  their  course  to 
join  their  companions  in  the  middle  of  the  Atlantic. 
They  had  a  little  over  six  hundred  miles  to  run  to  the 
" fishing -ground,"  and  made  it  in  three  days.  On 
Sunday  noon  they  came  in  sight  of  the  appointed  ren- 
dezvous, and  soon  with  glasses  made  out  the  Albany 
and  the  Terrible,  which  had  arrived  a  week  before 
and  placed  buoys  to  mark  the  line  of  the  cable, 
and  then,  like  giant  sea-birds  with  folded  wings,  sat 
watching  their  prey.  The  sea  was  running  high,  so 
that  boats  could  not  come  off,  but  the  Albany  signalled 
that  she  had  not  toiled  for  nothing ;  that  she  had  once 
hooked  the  cable,  but  lost  it  in  rough  weather.  The 
history  of  this  first  attempt,  though  brief,  was  cheering. 


394       HISTOKY   OF   THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH. 

When  the  Albany  left  Heart's  Content,  Captain  Mo- 
riarty  went  in  her.  He  had  been  in  the  Great  Eastern 
the  year  before,  and  saw  where  the  cable  went  down, 
and  had  had  his  eye  on  the  spot  ever  since.  He  claimed, 
with  Captain  Anderson,  that  he  could  go  straight  to  it 
and  place  the  ship  within  half  a  mile  of  where  it  disap- 
peared. At  this  old  sailors  shook  their  heads,  and  said, 
"  They'd  like  to  see  him  do  it ;"  "  JSTo  man  could  come 
within  two  or  three  miles  of  any  given  place  in  the 
ocean."  Yet  the  result  proved  the  exactness  of  his 
observations.  With  unerring  eye  he  went  straight  to 
the  spot,  and  set  his  buoys  as  exactly  as  a  fisherman 
sets  his  nets. 

In  the  Albany,  also,  had  gone  Mr.  Temple,  of  Mr. 
Canning's  staff.  The  ship  had  been  fitted  up  with  a 
complete  set  of  buoys  and  apparatus  for  grappling; 
and  he  was  full  of  ambition  to  recover  the  cable  before 
the  Great  Eastern  should  come  up.  In  this  he  had 
nearly  proved  successful.  They  had  caught  it  once, 
and  raised  it  a  few  hundred  fathoms  from  the 
bottom,  and  buoyed  it,  but  rough  weather  came  on 
and  tore  away  the  buoy,  so  that  the  cable  went  down 
again,  carrying  two  miles  of  rope. 

This  was  a  disappointment,  but  still,  as  their  first 
attempt  was  only  "a  feeler,"  the  result  was  encour- 
aging. It  showed  that  they  had  found  the  right  place ; 
that  the  cable  was  there  ;  that  it  had  not  run  away  or 


HISTORY    OF   TUE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.       o95 

been  floated  off  by  those  under-currents  that  exist  in 
the  imagination. of  some  wise  men  of  the  sea;  nor  that 
it  was  so  imbedded  in  the  ooze  of  the  deep  as  to  be  be- 
yond reach  or  recovery.  All  this  was  cheering,  but 
as  it  promised  to  be  a  more  difficult  job  than  they  had 
supposed,  they  were  glad  when  the  Great  Eastern 
hove  in  sight  that  Sunday  noon. 

The  next  morning  Captain  Moriarty  and  Mr.  Tem- 
ple came  on  board,  and  after  reporting  their  experi- 
ence, the  chief  officers  of  the  Expedition  held  a  council 
of  war  before  opening  the  campaign.  The  fleet  was 
now  all  together,  the  weather  was  favorable,  and  it  was 
determined  at  once  to  proceed  to  business. 

As  the  attempt  is  now  to  be  renewed  on  a  grand 
scale,  the  reader  may  wish  some  further  details  of 
the  means  employed  to  insure  success.  As  nothing 
in  this  whole  enterprise  has  excited  such  astonish- 
ment, nothing  merits  a  more  careful  history.  "When 
it  was/  first  proposed  to  drag  the  bottom  of  the  Atlan- 
tic for  a  cable  lost  in  waters  two  and  a  half  miles  deep, 
the  project  was  so  daring  that  it  seemed  almost  im- 
pious—a war  of  the  Titans  upon  the  gods.  Yet  never 
was  any  thing  undertaken  less  in  the  spirit  of  reckless 
desperation.  The  cable  was  recovered,  as  a  city  is 
taken  by  siege — by  slow  approaches,  and  the  sure  and 
inevitable  result  of  mathematical  calculation.  Every 
point  was  studied  beforehand — the  position  of  the 


396        HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

broken  end,  the  depth  of  the  ocean,  the  length  of 
rope  needed  to  reach  the  bottom,  and  the  strength 
required  to  lift  the  enormous  weight.  To  find  the 
place  was  a  simple  question  of  nautical  astronomy — 
a  calculation  of  latitude  and  longitude.  It  seemed 
providential  that,  when  the  cable  broke  on  the  second 
of  August,  1865,  it  was  a  few  minutes  after  noon ; 
the  sun  was  shining  brightly,  and  they  had  just  taken 
a  perfect  observation.  This  made  it  much  easier  to 
go  back  to  the  place  again.  The  waters  were  very 
deep,  but  that  they  could  touch  bottom,  and  even 
grapple  the  cable,  was  proved  by  the  experiments  of 
the  year  before.  But  could  any  power  be  applied 
which  should  lift  it  without  breaking,  and  bring  it 
safely  on  board?  This  was  a  simple  question  of 
mechanics.  Prof.  Thomson  had  made  a  calculation 
that  in  raising  the  cable  from  a  depth  of  two  and  a 
half  miles,  there  would  be  about  ten  miles  of  its 
length  suspended  in  the  water.  Of  course,  it  -was  a 
very  nice  matter  to  graduate  the  strain  so  as  not  to 
break  the  cable.  For  this  it  had  been  suggested  that 
two  or  three  ships  should  grapple  it  at  once,  and 
lifting  it  together,  ease  the  strain  on  any  one  point — 
a  method  that  we  shall  see  was  finally  adopted  with 
success. 

With  such  preparations,  let  us  see  how  all  this  sci- 
ence and  seamanship  and  engineering  are   applied. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       397 

The  ships  are  now  all  together  in  the  middle  of  the 
Atlantic.  The  first  point  is  achieved  —  they  have 
found  the  place  where  the  broken  cable  lies — they 
have  laid  their  hands  on  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  and 
"felt  of  it,"  and  know  that  it  is  there.  The  next 
thing  is  to  draw  a  line  over  it,  to  mark  its  course,  for 
in  fogs  and  dark  nights  it  cannot  be  traced  by  obser- 
vations. The  watery  line  is  therefore  marked  by  a 
series  of  buoys  a  few  miles  apart,  which  are  held  in 
position  by  heavy  mushroom-anchors,  let  down  to  the 
bottom  by  a  huge  buoy-rope,  which  is  fastened  at 
the  top  by  a  heavy  chain.  Each  buoy  is  numbered, 
and  has  on  the  top  a  long  staff  with  a  flag,  and  a  black 
ball  over  it,  which  can  be  seen  at  a  distance.  Thus 
the  ships,  ranging  around  in  a  circuit  of  many  miles, 
can  keep  in  sight  this  chain  of  sentinels.  The  buoy 
which  marks  the  spot  where  they  wish  to  grapple  has 
also  a  lantern  placed  upon  it  at  night,  which  gleams  afar 
upon  the  ocean.  Having  thus  fixed  their  bearings,  the 
Great  Eastern  stands  off,  north  or  south  according  to 
the  wind  or  current,  three  or  four  miles  from  where 
the  cable  lies,  and  then,  casting  over  the  grapnel,  drifts 
slowly  down  upon  the  line,  as  ships  going  into  action 
reef  their  sails,  and  drift  under  the  enemy's  guns. 

The  "fishing-tackle"  is  on  a  gigantic  scale.  The 
"  hooks,"  or  grapnels,  are  huge  weapons  armed  with 
teeth,  like  Titanic  harpoons  to  be  plunged  into  this 


398        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

submarine  monster.  The  "  fishing-line  "  is  a  rope  six 
and  a  half  inches  round,  and  made  of  twisted  hemp 
and  iron,  consisting  of  forty-nine  galvanized  wires, 
each  bound  with  manilla,  the  whole  capable  of  bearing 
a  strain  of  thirty  tons.  Of  this  heavy  rope  there  are 
twenty  miles  on  board  the  ships,  the  Albany  carrying 
five,  and  the  Great  Eastern  and  the  Medway  seven 
and  a  half  miles  each.  Of  course  it  is  not  the  easiest 
thing  in  the  world  to  handle  such  a  rope.  But  it  is 
paid  out  by  machinery,  passing  over  a  drum ;  and  the 
engine  works  so  smoothly,  that  it  runs  out  as  easily  as 
ever  a  fisherman's  line  was  reeled  off  into  the  sea.  As 
it  goes  out  freely,  the  strain  increases  every  moment 
The  rope  is  so  ponderous,  that  the  weight  mounts  up 
very  fast,  so  that  by  the  time  it  is  two  thousand  fath- 
oms down,  the  strain  is  equal  to  six  or  seven  tons. 
The  tension  of  course  is  very  great,  and  not  unattend- 
ed with  danger.  "What  if  the  rope  should  break?  If 
it  should  snap  on  board,  it  would  go  into  the  sea  like 
a  cannon-shot.  Such  was  the  tension  on  the  long 
line,  that  once  when  the  splice  between  the  grap- 
nel-rope and  the  buoy-rope  "  drew,"  the  end  passed 
along  the  wheels  with  terrific  velocity,  and  flying  in 
the  air  over  the  bow,  plunged  into  the  sea.  But  the 
rope  is  well  made,  and  holds  firmly  an  enormous 
weight.  It  takes  about  two  hours  for  the  grapnel 
to  reach  the  bottom,  but  they  can  tell  when  it  strikes. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       399 

The  strain  eases  up,  and  then,  as  the  ship  drifts,  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  it  is  not  dragging  through  the  water, 
but  over  the  ground.  "I  often  went  to  the  bow," 
says  Mr.  Field,  "  and  sat  on  the  rope,  and  could  tell 
by  the  quiver  that  the  grapnel  was  dragging  on  the 
bottom  two  miles  under  us." 

And  thus,  with  its  fishing  line  set.  the  great  ship 
moves  slowly  down  over  where  the  cable  lies.  As  the 
grapnel  drags  on  the  bottom,  one  of  the  engineer's 
staff  stands  at  the  dynamometer  to  watch  for  the 
moment  of  increasing  strain.  A  few  hours  pass, 
and  the  index  rises  to  eight,  ten,  or  twelve  tons, 
sure  token  that  there  is  something  at  the  end  of 
the  line— it  may  be  the  lost  cable,  or  a  sunken  mast 
or  spar,  the  fragment  of  a  wreck  that  went  down  in 
a  storm  that  swept  the  Atlantic  a  hundred  years  ago. 
And  now  the  engine  is  set  in  motion  to  haul  in.  As 
the  rope  comes  up,  it  passes  over  a  five  feet  drum, 
eveiy  revolution  bringing  up  three  fathoms.  Thus  it 
takes  some  hours  to  haul  in  over  two  miles'  length, 
perhaps  at  last  to  find  nothing  at  the  end  ! 

Success  in  hooking  the  cable  depends  on  the  accu- 
racy of  their  observations.  These  were  sometimes 
verified  in  a  remarkable  manner.  When  the  nights 
were  very  dark  and  thick  with  fog,  so  that  they 
could  not  see  the  stars  above  nor  their  lights  on 
the  ocean,  they  had  to  go  almost  by  the  sense  of 


400        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH. 

feeling.  Yet  so  exactly  had  they  taken  their  bear- 
ings, that  they  could  almost  grope  over  the  ground 
with  their  hands.  A  singular  proof  of  this  was 
given,  one  night,  when,  just  as  the  line  began  to 
quiver,  showing  that  the  cable  had  been  hooked, 
one  of  the  buoys — which  had  not  been  seen  in  the 
darkness — thumped  against  the  side  of  the  ship.  So 
exactly  had  it  been  placed  over  the  prescribed  line, 
that  the  ship  struck  the  buoy  just  as  the  grapnel 
struck  the  cable !  The  accident,  which  startled  them 
at  first,  when  it  occurred  in  the  gloom  of  night,  fur- 
nished the  strongest  proof  of  the  accuracy  of  their 
observations  ;  and  the  officers  were  very  proud  of 
it,  as  they  well  might  be,  as  "a  victory  in  nautical 
astronomy  I" 

These  different  experiments  revealed  some  secrets 
of  the  ocean.  Its  bottom  proved  to  be  generally  ooze, 
a  soft  slime.  When  the  rope  went  down,  one  or  two 
hundred  fathoms  at  the  end  would  trail  on  the  sea 
floor ;  and  when  it  came  up,  this  was  found  coated 
with  mud,  "  very  fine  and  soft  like  putty,  and  full 
of  minute  shells."  But  it  was  not  all  ooze  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea,  even  on  this  telegraphic  plateau. 
There  were  hidden  rocks — perhaps  not  cliffs  and 
ledges,  but  at  least  scattered  boulders,  lying  on  that 
broad  plain.  Sometimes  the  strain  on  the  dynamo- 
meter would  suddenly  go  up  three  or  four  tons,  and 


HISTORY    OF    THE    ATLANTIC    TELEGRAPH.      401 

then  back  again,  as  if  the  grapnel  had  been  caught 
and  broken  away.  Once  it  came  up  with  two  of  its 
hooks  bent,  as  if  it  had  come  in  contact  with  a  huge 
rock.  At  one  time  it  brought  up  in  the  mud  a  small 
stone  half  the  size  of  an  almond ;  and  at  another  a 
fragment  as  large  as  a  brick.  This  was  a  piece  of 
granite. 

Friday,  August  17th,  was  a  memorable  day  in  the 
expedition,  for  the  cable  was  not  only  caught,  but 
brought  to  the  surface,  where  it  was  in  full  sight  of 
the  whole  ship,  and  yet  finally  escaped.  The  day  be- 
fore the  line  had  been  cast  over,  at  about  two  o'clock, 
1  and  struck  the  ground  a  little  before  five.  After  drag- 
ging a  couple  of  hours,  the  increasing  strain  showed 
that  they  had  grappled  the  prize,  and  they  began  to 
haul  in,  but  soon  ceased,  and  held  on  till  morning. 
Then  the  engine  was  set  in  motion  again,  and  slowly 
but  steadily  the  ponderous  rope  came  up  from  the 
deep.  By  half-past  ten  o'clock,  Friday  morning, 
twenty-three  hundred  fathoms  had  come  on  board, 
and  but  fifteen  or  twenty  remained.  Then  was  the 
critical  moment,  and  they  paused  before  giving  a  last 
pull.  Such  was  the  eagerness  of  all,  that  the  diver  of 
the  ship,  Clark,  begged  to  be  allowed  to  plunge  down 
twenty  fathoms,  to  lay  his  hand  on  the  prize,  and  be 
sure  that  it  was  there.  But  patience  yet  a  few  minutes ! 
A  few  more  strokes  of  the  engine,  and  the  sea-serpent 


402       HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

shows  himself — a  long  black  snake  with  a  white  belly. 
"On  the  appearance  of  the  cable,"  says  Deane,  in  his 
Diary  of  the  Expedition,  "we  were  all  struck  with  the 
fact  that  one  half  of  it  was  covered  with  ooze,  staining 
it  a  muddy  white,  while  the  other  half  was  in  just  the 
state  in  which  it  left  the  tank,  with  its  tarred  surface 
and  strands  unchanged,  which  showed  that  it  lay  in 
the  sand  only  half  embedded.  The  strain  on  the  cable 
gave  it  a  twist,  and  it  looked  as  if  it  had  been  painted 
spirally  black  and  white.  This  disposes  of  the  oft- 
repeated  assertion,  that  we  should  not  be  able  to  pull 
it  up  from  the  bottom,  because  it  would  be  embedded 
in  the  ooze." 

The  appearance  of  the  cable  woke  a  tremendous 
hurrah  from  all  on  board.  They  cheered  as  English 
sailors  are  apt  to  cheer  when  the  flag  of  an  enemy  is 
struck  in  battle.  But  their  exultation  came  too  soon. 
The  strain  on  the  cable  was  already  mounting  up  to  a 
dangerous  point.  Capt.  Anderson  and  Mr.  Canning 
were  standing  on  the  bow,  and  saw  that  the  strands 
were  going.  They  hastened  men  to  its  relief,  but  it 
was  too  late.  Before  they  could  put  stoppers  on  it  to 
hold  it,  it  broke  close  to  the  grapnel,  and  sunk  to  the 
bottom.  It  had  been  in  sight  but  just  five  minutes, 
and  was  gone.  Instantly  the  feeling  of  exultation  was 
turned  to  one  of  disappointment,  and  almost  of  rage, 
at  the  treacherous  monster,  that  lifted  up  its  snaky 


UISTOKY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       403 

head  from  the  sea,  as  if  to  mock  its  captors,  and  in- 
stantly dived  to  the  silence  and  darkness  below. 

It  was  a  cruel  disappointment.  Yet  when  they  came 
to  think  soberly,  it  was  not  a  cause  for  despair,  but  rather 
for  new  confidence  and  hope.  It  showed  them  what 
they  could  do.  But  this  detained  them  in  the  middle 
of  the  Atlantic  for  two  weeks  more. 

It  were  idle  to  relate  all  the  attempts  of  those  two 
weeks.  Every  day  brought  its  excitement.  When- 
ever the  grapnel  caught,  there  was  a  suspense  of  many 
hours  till  it  was  brought  on  board.  Several  times 
they  seemed  on  the  point  of  success.  Two  days  after 
that  fatal  Friday,  on  Sunday,  August  19th,  they  caught 
the  cable  again,  and  brought  it  up  within  a  thousand 
fathoms  of  the  ship,  and  buoyed  it.  But  Monday  and 
Tuesday  were  too  rough  for  work,  and  all  their  labor 
was  in  vain.  Thus  it  was  a  constant  battle  with  the 
elements.  Sometimes  the  wind  blew  fiercely  and  drove 
them  off  their  course.  Sometimes  the  buoys  broke 
adrift  and  had  to  be  pursued  and  taken.  Once  or 
twice  the  boatswain's  mate — a  brave  fellow,  by  the 
name  of  Thornton — was  lowered  in  ropes  over  the 
bow  of  the  ship  and  let  down  astride  of  a  buoy  ;  and 
though  it  spun  round  with  him  like  a  top,  and  his  life 
was  in  danger,  he  held  on  and  fastened  a  chain  to  it, 
by  which  it  was  swung  on  board. 

The  continued  bad  weather  was  the  chief  obstacle 


404       HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

to  success.     Engineers  had  often  grappled  for  cables 
in  the  North  Sea  and  the  Mediterranean ;  but  there 
they  could  look  for  at  least  a  few  days  when  the  sea 
would  be  at  rest ;  but  in  the  Atlantic  it  was  impos- 
sible to   calculate  on  good  weather  for  twenty-four 
hours.     For  nearly  four  weeks  that  they  were  at  sea, 
they  had  hardly  four  days  of  clear  sunshine,  without 
wind.     Often  the  ocean  was  covered  with  a  driving 
mist,  and  the  ships,  groping  about  like  blind  giants, 
kept  blowing  their  shrill  fog-trumpets,  or  firing  guns, 
as   signals  to  their  companions  that  they  were  still 
there.     Occasionally  the  sun  shone  out  from  the  clouds, 
and  gave  them  hope  of  better  success.     Once  or  twice 
we  find  in  the  private  journal  kept  by  Mr.  Field,  that 
it  was  "  too  .calm ;"  there  was  not  wind  enough  to  drift 
the  ship  over  the  cable,  so  that  the  rope  hung  up  and 
down  from  the  bow,  without  dragging.     One  Sunday 
night  he  remembers  especially,  when  the   deep  was 
hushed  to  a  Sabbath  stillness,  the  moon  was  shining 
brightly,  and  the  ships  floating  over  a  "sea  of  glass," 
suggested  to  many  at  that  solemn  hour  thoughts  of  a 
better  world  than  this.     Such  times  gave  them  fresh 
hopes,  that  in  a  few  hours  were  likely  to  be  disappointed. 
Once,  however,  the  Albany,  which  had  been  off  a  few 
miles  fishing  on  its  own  hook,  suddenly  appeared  in 
the  night,  reporting  a  victory.    All  on  board  the  Great 
Eastern  were  startled  by  the  firing  of  guns.     It  was  a  lit- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       405 

tie  after  midnight,  and  Mr.  Field  had  gone  below,  worn 
out  with  the  long  suspense  and  anxiety,  when  Capt. 
Anderson  came  rushing  to  his  state-room  with  tidings 
that  the  cable  was  recovered !  Both  hurried  on  deck, 
and  sure  enough  there  was  the  Albany  bearing  down 
upon  them,  with  her  crew  cheering  in  the  wildest 
manner.  The  gallant  Temple  had  conquered  at  last. 
But  the  next  morning  brought  a  fresh  disappointment. 
They  had  indeed  got  hold  of  the  cable,  and  brought  its 
end  on  board,  and  afterward  buoyed  it,  but  when  the 
Great  Eastern  went  for  it.  it  proved  to  be  only  a  frag- 
ment some  two  miles  long,  which  had  been  broken 
off  in  one  of  the  previous  grapplings.  However,  they 
hauled  it  in,  and  kept  it  with  pride,  as  their  first  trophy 
from  the  sea. 

And  so  the  days  and  weeks  wore  on ;  it  was  near 
the  end  of  August,  and  still  the  prize  was  not  taken. 
The  courage  of  the  men  did  not  fail,  but  they  were 
becoming  worn  out.  The  tension  on  their  nerves  of 
this  long  suspense  was  terrible.  On  Tuesday,  Augusb 
28th,  Mr.  Temple  was  brought  on  board  from  the 
Albany,  very  ill.  He  was  worn  out  with  constant 
watching.  Their  resources,  too,  must  in  time  be 
exhausted.  On  the  evening  of  the  29th,  Capt.  Com- 
merell,  of  the  Terrible,  came  on  board,  and  reported 
the  condition  of  his  ship.  This  was  one  of  the  very 
best  officers  in  the  fleet.  He  was  full  of  zeal,  courage, 


406        HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGEAPH. 

and  activity,  (having  a  good  right  hand  in  his  first  offi- 
cer, Mr.  Curtis,)  and  always  kept  up  a  brave  heart, 
even  in  the  darkest  days.*  But  his  supplies  weie  nearly 

*  Captain  Anderson  pays  a  high  tribute  to  this  commander  in  a 
letter  published  after  the  return  to  England.  He  says :  "  Every  officer 
and  man  of  the  expedition  will  have  pleasant  recollection  of  the  cheer- 
ful zeal  of  Captain  Commerill,  V.C.,  and  the  officers  of  Her  Majesty's 
ship  Terrible.  Captain  Commerill  frequently  visited  us  in  his  boats, 
both  in  high  seas  and  in  calms,  and  his  cheery  way  of  saying,  '  You'll 
do  it  yet,'  '  What  can  I  do  ?'  and  '  I'll  do  it,'  was  truly  characteristic  of 
him.  The  officers  of  the  Terrible  would  do  any  thing  for  their  captain, 
and  entered  heartily  into  the  object  of  the  voyage." 

Such  a  tribute  from  one  brave  commander  to  another,  is  most  honor- 
able to  both.  In  the  same  letter  he  recognizes,  also,  the  services  ren- 
dered by  the  captains  of  the  other  ships:  "I  shall  do  but  scant  justice 
to  Commanders  Prowse  and  Batt,  R.N.,  and  Captains  Eddington  and 
Harris,  Mercantile  Marine,  of  the  Medway  and  Albany,  if  I  recall  the 
three  weeks  spent  upon  the  '  grappling  ground,'  where  we  were  often 
separated  by  fog,  gale,  or  darkness  ;  yet  whenever  day  dawned,  or  the 
fog  cleared,  there  the  squadron  were  to  be  seen,  converging  from  differ- 
ent points  towards  the  Mark  Buoy,  a  small  spot  looking  no  bigger 
than  a  man's  hat  on  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  Unless  all  had  con- 
centrated their  minds,  and  watched  their  ships  and  compasses  night 
and  day,  no  such  beautiful  illustration  of  nautical  science  could  have 
been  possible.  The  vessels  of  the  squadron  keeping  always  together, 
and  commanded  by  men  who  knew  the  importance  of  keeping  close 
enough  to  begin  work  whenever  it  was  possible,  and  yet  to  avoid  col- 
lision in  fog,  was  of  the  greatest  importance ;  and  we  owe  much  to 
that  invaluable  system  of '  signalling  by  night  and  day,  invented  by 
Captain  Colomb,  K.N.,  which  enabled  us,  even  in  dark  nights,  when 
two  or  three  miles  apart,  to  communicate  or  ascertain  any  thing  we 
desired." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       407 

exhausted.  He  had  been  out  four  weeks,  and  his  coal 
was  almost  gone,  and  his  men  were  on  half  rations.  So 
he  must  leave  the  fishing  ground  for  fresh  supplies.  It 
was  a  painful  necessity.  He  mourned  his  fate,  like  a 
brave  officer  who  is  ordered  away  in  the  midst  of  a 
battle.  But  he  submitted  only  with  a  determination  to 
take  in  ammunition,  and  to  come  back  in  a  few  days  to 
renew  the  struggle.  Accordingly  the  Terrible  left  the 
same  evening  for  St.  John's. 

At  the  same  time  it  was  decided  that  the  three  other 
ships  should  leave  their  present  cruising  ground,  and 
try  a  new  spot.  As  an  old  fisherman,  who  has  cast  his 
line  in  one  place  so  often  as  to  scare  the  fish  away,  some- 
times has  better  luck  in  other  waters,  so  they  proposed 
to  go  east  a  hundred  miles,  to  a  place  where  the  ocean 
was  not  quite  so  deep.  Deane,  in  his  Diary,  calls  it 
"the  sixteen  hundred  fathom  patch,"  but  they  found 
it  nineteen  hundred  fathoms,  or  about  two  miles !  So 
the  next  morning  the  Great  pastern,  the  Medway,  and 
the  Albany  "pulled  up  stakes,"  that  is,  took  in  their 
buoys,  and  bore  away  to  the  east.  In  a  few  hours 
they  reached  the  appointed  rendezvous,  and  had  set 
their  buoys.  The  last  day  of  August  had  come,  and 
all  seemed  favorable  for  a  final  attempt.  It  was  a  clear 
day,  with  no  wind.  The  sea  had  gone  down,  so  that 
at  noon  it  .was  a  dead  calm,  as  the  three  ships  took  their 
position  in  line,  about  two  miles  apart,  ready  to  open 


408       HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

their  broadsides  at  once.  The  grapnel  goes  over  for 
the  thirtieth  time.  Kind  heaven  favors  its  search,  and 
at  ten  minutes  before  midnight  it  has  found  the  cable, 
and  fastened  its  teeth  never  to  let  go.  •  Feeling  some- 
thing at  the  end  of  the  rope,  they  begin  to  haul  in,  but 
slowly  at  first,  as  an  expert  angler  decoys  a  big  fish  by 
pulling  gently  on  the  line.  Watching  the  dynamometer, 
they  see  with  delight  the  strain  increase  with  every  hun- 
dred fathoms.  Up  it  goes  to  eight,  nine,  ten  tons !  Now 
they  have  caught  it,  and  no  mistake.  In  about  five  hours 
they  have  drawn  it  up  to  within  a  thousand  fathoms 
of  the  top  of  the  water,  where  it  hangs  suspended  from 
the  ship.  But  now  comes  the  critical  point,  for  as  it 
approaches  the  surface  the  danger  of  breaking  increases 
every  moment.  It  requires  delicate  handling.  To  make 
sure  this  time,  the  Great  Eastern  buoys  the  cable,  and 
moves  off  two  or  three  miles  to  take  a  fresh  grip  in  a 
new  place.  .And  now,  having  got  a  double  hold,  the 
Medway,  which  is  two  miles  further  to  the  west,  is 
ordered  to  grapple  for  it  also ;  and  having  caught  it. 
to  heave  up  with  all  force,  till  she  should  bring  it  on 
board  or  break  it.  This  is  done,  and  the  cable  brought 
up  within  three  hundred  fathoms,  and  there  broken. 
This  at  once  lightens  the  strain  and  gives  them  an  end 
to  pull  up  on.  And  now,  having  a  lighter  weight  on 
the  rope,  the  Great  Eastern  draws  up  again,  but  still 
gently,  watching  the  strain,  lest  the  cable  should  break. 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       409 

These  operations  are  very  slow,  and  last  many  weary 
hours.  It  was  a  little  before  midnight  on  Friday  night 
that  tlie  cable  was  caught,  and  it  was  after  midnight 
Sunday  morning  that  it  was  brought  on  board.  How 
long  that  day  seemed !  Night  turned  to  morning,  and 
morning  to  noon,  and  noon  to  night  again,  and  still  the 
work  was  not  done  ;  still  the  great  ship  hung  over  the 
spot  where  its  treasure  was  suspended  in  the  deep. 
The  sun  went  down,  and  the  moon  looked  forth  from 
driving  clouds  upon  a  scene  such  as  the  ocean  never 
saw  before.  At  a  distance  could  be  discerned  the  black 
hulls  of  the  attendant  ships,  the  Albany  and  the  Med- 
way.  But  why  are  they  thus  silent  and  motionless  in 
the  midst  of  the  sea  ?  Some  mysterious  errand  brings 
them  here,  and  as  their  boats  approach  with  measured 
sweep,  at  this  midnight  hour,  it  seems  as  if  they  came 
with  muffled  oars  to  an  ocean  burial.  It  was  still  calm, 
but  the  sea  began  to  moan  with  unrest,  as  if  troubled 
in  its  sleep.  As  midnight  drew  on,  the  interest  gathered 
about  the  bows  of  the  Great  Eastern.  The  bulwarks 
were  crowded  with  anxious  watchers,  peering  into  the 
darkness  below.  Still  not  a  word  was  spoken.  Not  a 
voice  was  heard,  save  tha.t  of  Capt.  Anderson,  or  Mr. 
Halpin,  or  Mr.  Canning,  giving  orders.  As  it  approached 
the  surface,  two  men,  who  were  tried  cable-hands,  were 
lashed  with  ropes  and  lowered  over  the  bows,  to  make 
fast  to  the  cable  when  it  should  appear.  This  was  a 


410        HISTORY   OF   THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH. 

perilous  service,  and  the  boats  were  there  to  pick  up 
these  brave  fellows,  if  they  should  drop  into  the  water. 
As  soon  as  it  shows  itself,  they  dive  upon  it,  and  seizing 
it  with  their  hands,  fasten  it  with  large  hempen  stoppers, 
which  are  quickly  attached  to  five-inch  ropes.  "  It 
was  then  found,"  says  Deane,  "  that  the  bight  was  so 
firmly  caught  in  the  springs  of  the  grapnel,  that  one 
of  the  brave  hands  who  put  on  the  stoppers,  was  sent 
lower  down  to  the  grapnel,  and  with  hammer  and 
marlinspike,  the  rope  was  ultimately  freed  from  the 
tenacious  gripe  of  the  flukes.  The  signal  being  given 
to  haul  up,  the  western  end  of  the  bight  was  cut  with 
a  saw,  and  grandly  and  majestically  the  cable  rose  up 
the  frowning  bows  of  the  Great  Eastern,  slowly  passing 
round  the  sheave  at  the  bow,  and  then  over  the  wheels 
on  to  the  fore  part  of  the  deck.  The  greatest  possible 
care  had  to  be  taken  by  Mr.  Canning  and  his  assistants, 
to  secure  the  cable  by  putting  on  stoppers,  and  to  watch 
the  progress  of  the  grapnel,  rope,  and  shackles,  round 
the  drum,  before  it  received  the  cable  itself." 

When  once  it  was  made  fast,  all  took  a  long  breath. 
The  cable  was  recovered.  They  had  the  sea-serpent 
at  last.  There  the  monster  lay,  its  neck  firmly  in  their 
gripe,  and  its  black  head  lying  on  the  deck.  But  even 
then  there  was  no  cheering,  as  when  they  caught  it 
two  weeks  before.  Men  are  sometimes  stunned  by  a 
sudden  success,  and  hardly  know  if  it  be  not  all  a 


HISTORY   OF   THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.        411 

dream.  So  now  they  looked  at  the  cable  with  eager 
eyes,  but  without  a  word,  and  some  crept  toward  it  to 
take  it  in  their  teands,  to  be  sure  that  they  were  nofc 
deceived.  Yes — it  is  the  same  that  they  paid  out  into 
the  sea  thirteen  months  before  I 

But  their  anxiety  was  not  over.  Now  that  they  had 
regained  the  lost  cable  of  1865,  was  it  good  for  any 
thing?  It  had  been  lying  more  than  a  year  at  the 
bottom  of  the  deep.  What  if  it  should  prove  to  have 
been  broken  somewhere  in  the  eleven  hundred  miles 
between  the  ship  and  Ireland  ?  What  if  some  sharp 
rock  had  worn  it  away,  or  some  marine  insect  had 
eaten  into  its  heart?  If  there  were  but  a  pin's  point, 
anywhere  in  its  covering  of  flesh,  through  that  the 
vital  current  might  escape  into  the  sea.  Fears  like 
these  restrained  their  exultation.  It  was  yet  too  soon 
to  proclaim  their  victory.  So,  as  the  cable  was  passed 
along  the  deck  to  the  testing  room,  where  the  chief 
electrician  was  to  operate  upon  it,  to  see  whether 
it  was  alive  or  dead,  it  was  followed  by  an  anxious 
group,  who  stood  around  him  as  he  sat  down  at  the 
instrument,  watching  his  countenance  as  friends  watch 
the  face  of  a  physician,  when  he  feels  the  pulse  of  a 
patient  to  see  if  the  heart  is  still  beating.  The  scene 
is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Eobert  Dudley,  the  artist  of 
the  expedition,  whose  spirited  sketches  in  the  London 


412        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

Illustrated  News  have  made  known  to  the  world  many 
incidents  of  this  memorable  voyage  : 

"I  made  my  way  with  others,  in  accordance  with  an 
invitation  from  Willoughby  Smith,  to  the  electricians' 
room.  Here,  after  another  hour's  preparation,  during 
which  time  the  cable  had  been  carefully  passed  round 
the  drums  of  the  picking-up  machinery,  and  a  sufficient 
length  drawn  in  on  board,  the  severed  end  was  received. 
And  now,  in  their  mysterious,  darkened  haunt,  the 
wizards  are  ready  to  work  their  spells  upon  the  tamed 
lightning.  Not  c  unholy  spells '  are  these,  or  secret ; 
for,  though  the  wizards'  den  is  but  of  limited  dimen- 
sions, they  have  not  been  averse  to  the  presence  of 
a  few  visitors.  Mr.  Gooch  is  looking  on ;  Professor 
Thomson,  be  sure,  is  here,  a  worthy  '"Wizard  of  the 
North ;'  Cyrus  Field  could  no  more  be  absent  than 
the  cable  itself;  I  think,  too,  Canning,  hard  at  work  as 
he  is  forward  in  the  ship,  must  have  dropped  in  just 
for  a  moment;  Clifford,  Laws,  Captain  Hamilton, 
Deane,  Dudley — all  have,  in  their  several  ways,  a  great 
interest  in  every  movement  of  Willoughby  Smith  and 
his  brother  (and  able  assistant)  Oliver ;  and,  when  the 
core  of  the  cable  is  stripped  and  the  heart  itself — the 
conducting  wire — fixed  in  the  instrument,  and  these 
two  electricians  bend  over  the  galvanometer  in  patient 
watching  for  some  message  from  that  far-off  land  of 
home  to  which  the  great  news  has  just  been  signalled, 


IIISTOIIY   OF   TIIE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRArH.        413 

then  the"  accustomed  stillness  of  the  test-room  is 
deepened;  the  ticking  of  the  chronometer  becomes 
monotonous.  Nearly  a  quarter  of  an  hour  has  passed, 
and  still  no  sign  1  Suddenly  Willoughby  Smith's  hat 
is  off,  and  the  British  hurrah  bursts  from  his  lips, 
echoed  by  all  on  board  with  a  volley  of  cheers, 
evidently  none  the  worse  for  having  been  *  bottled  up  ' 
during  the  last  three  hours.  Along  the  deck  outside, 
over  the  ship,  throughout  the  ship,  the  pent-up  enthu- 
siasm overflowed ;  and  even  before  the  test-room  was 
cleared,  the  roaring  bravos  of  our  guns  drowned  the 
huzzas  of  the  crew,  and  the  whiz  of  rockets  was  heard 
rushing  high  into  the  clear  morning  sky  to  greet  our 
consort-ships  with  the  glad  intelligence." 

"While  this  scene  is  going  on  on  board  ship,  we  may 
turn  to  the  other  end  of  the  line.  It  may  be  well 
supposed  that  the  result  of  this  attempt  was  watched  with 
deep  interest  at  Yalentia.  How  they  looked  for  the 
first  signal  from  the  deep,  and  how  the  tidings  came,  is 
thus  told  in  the  London  Spectator : 

"  Night  and  day,  for  a  whole  year,  an  electrician  has 
always  been  on  duty,  watching  the  tiny  ray  of  light 
through  which  signals  are  given,  and  twice  every  day 
the  whole  length  of  wire — one  thousand  two  hundred 
and  forty  miles — has  been  tested  for  conductivity  and 
insulation.  . .  .  The  object  of  observing  the  ray  of  light 
was  of  course  not  any  expectation  of  a  message,  but 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

simply  to  keep  an  accurate  record  of  the  condition  of 
the  wire.  Sometimes,  indeed,  wild,  incoherent  messages 
from  the  deep  did  come,  but  these  were  merely  the 
results  of  magnetic  storms  and  earth-currents,  which 
deflected  the  galvanometer  rapidly,  and  spelt  the  most 
extraordinary  words,  and  sometimes  even  sentences  of 
nonsense.  Suddenly,  last  Sunday  morning,  at  a  quarter 
to  six  o'clock,  while  the  light  was  being  watched  by 
Mr.  May*he  observed  a  peculiar  indication  about  it, 
which  showed  at  once  to  his  experienced  eye  that 
a  message  was  at  hand.  In  a  few  minutes  afterward 
the  unsteady  flickering  was  changed  to  coherency,  if 
we  may  use  such  a  term,  and  at  once  the  cable  began 
to  speak,  to  transmit,  that  is,  at  regular  intervals,  the 
appointed  signals  which  indicated  human  purpose  and 
method  at  the  other  end,  instead  of  the  hurried  signs, 
broken  speech,  and  inarticulate  cries  of  the  illiterate 
Atlantic.  After  the  long  interval  in  which  it  had 
brought  us  nothing  but  the  moody  and  often  delirious 
mutterings  of  the  sea,  stammering  over  its  alphabet  in 
vain,  the  words  'Canning  to  Glass'  must  have  seemed 
like  the  first  rational  word  uttered  by  a  high-fevered 
patient,  when  the  ravings  have  ceased  and  his  conscious- 
ness returns." 

The  telegraphic  fleet  remained  together  but  a  few 

*  This  is  an  error.  Mr.  Crocker,  an  operator  in  the  Telegraph 
House  at  Valentia,  was  the  fortunate  one  on  watch  at  that  hour, 
on  whose  eye  the  first  ray  fell,  as  a  spark  of  life  from  the  dead. 


HISTORY  OF   THE  ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH.       415 

hours  after  this  recovery  of  the  lost  cable.  The  battle 
was  gained,  and  the  three  ships  were  no  longer  needed. 
The  Albany,  therefore,  parted  company  to  pick  up  the 
buoys,  and  at  once  sailed  for  England,  while  the  Great 
Eastern,  attended  by  the  faithful  Medway,  turned  to 
the  west.  It  was  about  nine  o'clock  that  the  ship 
began  to  pay  out  the  cable.  Up  to  that  time  it  had 
continued  calm,  but  the  morning  was  raw  and  chill,  and 
the  sea  began  to  rise  as  if  in  anger  at  those  who  had 
torn  from  it  its  prey.  Capt.  Anderson  looked  anxiously 
at  the  signs  of  the  coming  storm.  How  providential 
it  seemed  that  the  wind  had  been  kept  back  during  the 
critical  hours  when  they  were  lifting  the  cable  !  But 
now  the  tempest  was  upon  them,  and  for  thirty-six 
hours  it  swept  the  ocean.  All  trembled  lest  they 
should  not  be  able  to  hold  on.  But  little  incidents 
sometimes  turn  the  current  of  one's  thoughts,  and  give 
a  feeling  of  peace  even  in  the  midst  of  anxiety.  Says 
Mr.  Field :  "  In  the  very  height  and  fury  of  the  gale,  as 
I  sat  in  the  electricians'  room,  a  flash  of  light  came  up 
from  the  deep,  which  having  crossed  to  Ireland,  came 
back  to  me  in  mid-ocean,  telling  that  those  so  dear  to 
me,  whom  I  had  left  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  were 
well,  and  following  us  with  their  wishes  and  their 
prayers.  This  was  like  a  whisper  of  God  from  the  sea, 
bidding  me  keep  heart  and  hope.  The  Great  Eastern 
bore  herself  proudly  through  the  storm,  as  if  she  knew 


416   HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

that  the  vital  cord  which  was  to  join  two  hemispheres, 
hung  at  her  stern ;  and  so  on  Saturday,  the  seventh,  of 
September,  we  brought  our  second  cable  safely  to  the 
shore." 

The  scene  at  Heart's  Content,  when  the  telegraphic 
fleet  appeared  the  second  time,  was  one  that  beggars 
description.  Its  arrival  was  not  unexpected,  for  the 
success  on  Sunday  morning,  that  had  been  telegraphed 
to  Ireland,  was  at  once  flashed  across  the  Atlantic,  and 
the  people  were  watching  for  its  coming.  As  the  ships 
came  up  the  harbor  it  was  covered  with  boats,  and  all 
were  wild  with  excitement;  and  when  the  big  shore-end 
was  got  out  of  the  Medway,  and  dragged  to  land,  the 
sailors  hugged  it  and  almost  kissed  it  in  their  extrava- 
gance of  joy ;  and  no  sooner  was  it  safely  landed  than 
they  seized  Mr.  Canning,  Mr.  Clifford,  and  Mr.  Field 
in  their  arms,  and  raised  them  over  their  heads,  while 
the  crowd  cheered  with  tumultuous  enthusiasm. 

The  voyage  of  the  Great  Eastern  was  ended.  Twice 
had  she  been  victorious  over  the  sea.  T  wice  she  had  laid 
the  spoils  of  victory  on  the  shores  of  the  New  World, 
and  her  mission  was  accomplislied.  All  on  board,  who 
had  been  detained  weeks  beyond  the  expected  time, 
were  impatient  to  return ;  and  accordingly  she  prepar- 
ed to  sail  the  very  next  day  on  her  homeward  voyage. 
The  Medway,  which  had  on  board  the  cable  for  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  remained  two  or  three  weeks 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       417 

longer,  and  with  the  Terrible,  whose  gallant  officers  had 
volunteered  for  the  service,  successfully  accomplished 
that  work.  But  the  Great  Eastern  was  bound  for 
England,  and  Mr.  Field  had  now  to  part  from  his 
friends  on  board.  It  was  a  trying  moment.  Eejoiced 
as  he  was  at  the  successful  termination  of  the  voyage, 
yet  when  he  came  to  leave  the  ship,  where  he  had 
spent  so  many  anxious  days  and  weeks,  both  this  year 
and  the  year  before ;  and  to  part  from  men  to  whom 
he  was  bound  by  the  strong  ties  that  unite  those 
embarked  in  a  common  enterprise — brave  companions 
in  arms — he  could  not  repress  a  feeling  of  sadness.  It 
was  with  deep  emotion  that  Capt.  Anderson  took  him 
by  the  hand,  as  he  said,  "  The  time  is  come  that  we 
must  part"  As  he  went  over  the  side  of  the  ship, 
"Give  him  three  cheers  1"  cried  the  commander ;  "And 
now  three  more  for  his  family  !"  The  ringing  hurras 
of  that  gallant  crew  were  the  last  sounds  he  heard  as 
he  sunk  back  in  the  boat  that  took  him  to  the  Medway, 
while  the  wheels  of  the  Great  Eastern  began  to  move, 
and  that  noble  ship,  with  her  noble  company,  bore 
away  for  England. 

Our  story  is  told.  "We  have  followed  the  history 
of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end ;  from  the  hour  that  the  idea  first  occurred  to  its 
projector,  turning  over  the  globe  in  his  library,  till 
the  cable  was  stretched  from  continent  to  continent. 


418       HISTOEY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC   TELEG11APH. 

Between  these  two  points  of  time  many  years  have 
passed,  and  many  struggles  intervened.  Never  did 
an  enterprise  pass  through  more  vicissitudes ;  never 
was  courage  tried  by  more  reverses  and  disappoint- 
ments, the  constant  repetition  of  which  gives  to  this 
narrative  an  almost  painful  interest.  Yet  that  back- 
ground of  disaster  only  sets  in  brighter  relief  the  spirit 
that  bore  up  under  all,  the  faith  that  never  despaired, 
and  the  patience  that  never  was  weary.  He  who  has 
followed  this  simple  record  to  its  close,  can  understand 
the  feeling  expressed  in  this  modest  and  grateful  ac- 
knowledgment : 

"  It  has  been  a  long,  hard  struggle.  Nearly  thirteen 
years  of  anxious  watching  and  ceaseless  toil.  Often 
my  heart  has  been  ready  to  sink.  Many  times,  when 
wandering  in  the  forests  of  Newfoundland,  in  the 
pelting  rain,  or  on  the  deck  of  ships,  on  dark,  stormy 
nights — alone,  far  from  home — I  have  almost  accused 
myself  of  madness  and  folly  to  sacrifice  the  peace  of 
my  family,  and  all  the  hopes  of  life,  for  what  might 
prove  after  all  but  a  dream.  I  have  seen  my  com- 
panions one  and  another  falling  by  my  side,  and  feared 
that  I  too  might  not  live  to  see  the  end.  And  yet, 
one  hope  has  led  me  on,  and  I  have  prayed  that  I 
might  not  taste  of  death  till  this  work  was  accom- 
plished. That  prayer  is  answered  ;  and  now,  beyond 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH,        419 

all  acknowledgments  to  men,  is  the  feeling  of  grati- 
tude to  Almighty  God."* 

Thus,  though  the  way  seems  long  and  hard,  in  the 
end  what  a  triumph  is  gained !  The  achievement  is 
certainly  one  of  the  most  marvellous  in  all  history — 
the  most  signal  proof  of  man's  power  and  dominion 
over  the  hidden  forces  of  nature.  "When  it  was  first 
proposed  thus  to  span  the  Atlantic,  it  seemed  but  the 
fancy  of  a  disordered  brain.  Yet  we  have  lived  to  see 
it  accomplished,  and  every  morning  this  ocean  tele- 
graph reports  to  us  what  transpired  in  Europe  but  a 
few  hours  before.  Indeed,  so  familiar  with  it  have  we 
become  that  we  hardly  stop  to  think  what  it  involves. 
Yet,  to  one  who  reflects,  it  can  never  lose  its  greatness 
by  familiarity.  It  will  always  remain  a  marvel  and  a 
mystery.  The  more  we  think  upon  it,  the  more  we 
are  thrilled  with  secret  awe  and  wonder.  Nine  years 
ago,  Edward  Everett,  in  his  memorable  oration  de- 
livered at  the  opening  of  the  Dudley  Observatory  at 
Albany,  thus  spoke  of  the  then  projected  Atlantic 
Telegraph : 

"  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  portion  of  the  identical  elec- 
trical cable,  given  me  by  my  friend  Mr.  Peabody, 
which  is  now  in  progress  of  manufacture  to  connect 
America  with  Europe.  Does  it  seem  all  but  incredi- 

*  Speech  at  the  Banquet  given  to  Mr.  Field  by  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  New- York,  Nov.  15,  1866. 


420        HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC   TELEGRAPH. 

ble  to  you  that  intelligence  should  travel  for  two  thou« 
sand  miles,  along  those  slender  copper  wires,  far  down 
in  the  all  but  fathomless  Atlantic,  never  before  pene- 
trated by  aught  pertaining  to  humanity,  save  when 
some  foundering  vessel  has  plunged  with  her  hapless 
company  to  the  eternal  silence  and  darkness  of  the 
abyss  ?  Does  it  seem,  I  say,  all  but  a  miracle  of  art, 
that  the  thoughts  of  living  men — the  thoughts  that 
we  think  up  here  on  the  earth's  surface,  in  the  cheer- 
ful light  of  day — about  the  markets  and  the  exchanges, 
and  the  seasons,  and  the  elections,  and  the  treaties,  and 
the  wars,  and  all  the  fond  nothings  of  daily  life,  should 
clothe  themselves  with  elemental  sparks,  and  shoot 
with  fiery  speed,  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye,  from  hemisphere  to  hemisphere,  far  down  among 
the  uncouth  monsters  that  wallow  in  the  nether  seas, 
along  the  wreck-paved  floor,  through  the  oozy  dun- 
geons of  the  rayless  deep ;  that  the  latest  intelligence 
of  the'  crops,  whose  dancing  tassels  will,  in  a  few 
months,  be  coquetting  with  the  west  wind  on  those 
boundless  prairies,  should  go  flashing  along  the  slimy 
decks  of  old  sunken  galleons,  which  have  been  rotting 
for  ages ;  that  messages  of  friendship  and  love,  from 
warm,  living  bosoms,  should  burn  over  the  cold,  green 
bones  of  men  and  women,  whose  hearts  once  as  warm 
as  ours,  burst  as  the  eternal  gulfs  closed  and  roared 
over  them  centuries  ago  !" 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.       421 

No  wonder  that  the  imagination  of  the  great  orator 
was  touched  by  thought  of  the  almost  fathomless 
depths  and  boundless  spaces  through  which  this  fiery 
messenger  was  to  make  its  way  ! 

But  it  is  not  alone  the  "miracle  of  art,"  or  the  tri- 
umph of  science,  which  gives  interest  to  this  achieve- 
ment. It  is  the  changed  relation  which  it  establishes 
between  different  parts  of  the  earth.  It  brings  the 
world  together.  It  joins  the  sundered  hemispheres. 
It  unites  distant  nations,  making  them  feel  that  they 
are  members  of  one  great  human  family.  That  which 
has  such  a  "  mission,"  it  is  impossible  to  think  of  as  a 
mere  material  thing.  This  ocean  cable  is  not  an  iron 
chain,  lying  cold  and  dead  in  the  icy  depths  of  the 
Atlantic.  It  is  a  living,  fleshly  bond  between  severed 
portions  of  the  human  family,  thrilling  with  life,  along 
which  the  pulses  of  love  and  tenderness  will  run,  swift 
as  the  currents  in  human  veins,  backward  and  forward 
for  ever.  By  such  strong  ties  does  it  tend  to  bind  the 
human  race  in  unity,  peace,  and  concord.  It  seemed 
significant  and  prophetic  of  its  future  use  and  tenden- 
cy, that  with  the  very  news  of  its  success  came  tidings 
that  the  great  war  in  Europe  was  ended  by  peace  be- 
tween Austria  and  Prussia.  The  announcement  was 
premature,  as  only  the  preliminaries  had  been  signed, 
yet  it  was  virtually  true ;  for  from  that  time  there  was 
an  actual  cessation  of  arms,  to  be  followed  in  a  few 


422        HISTORY  OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH. 

weeks  by  a  solemn  treaty  of  peace.  This  was  tidings 
worthy  to  be  flashed  from  one  hemisphere  to  the 
other. 

It  seemed  as  if  this  sea-nymph,  rising  out  of  the 
waves,  was  born  to  be  the  herald  of  peace.  Eight 
years  before,  almost  the  first  news  it  brought  was  that 
of  peace  in  China.  Indeed,  the  very  first  message 
spoken  across  the  deep  was  the  angels'  song  :  "  Glory 
to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good- will 
toward  men."  And  now,  when  again  the  sea  "had 
found  a  tongue,"  its  first  message  was  Peace.  "Was 
not  this  "  the  voice  of  God  upon  the  waters"  ? 

To  this  best  use  of  human  speech  let  this  new 
instrument  be  consecrated  !  Whatsoever  goeth  down 
into  the  sea,  let  it  tend  to  human  good.  Heaven  for- 
bid that  the  voice  of  rage  and  anger  should  ever  in- 
vade those  tranquil  depths.  However  men  may  hate 
each  other ;  however  they  may  war  up  here  on  the 
earth's  surface,  let  their  rage  and  fury,  let  their  curs- 
ing and  blasphemies,  like  the  sound  of  hostile  cannon, 
die  away  upon  the  upper  air.  But  in  that  under 
world,  that  realm  of  darkness  and  silence,  where 

"  So  lonely  'tis,  that  even  God 
Seems  not  there  to  be," 

let  human  passion  never  come.  Peace,  peace,  above 
and  below  !  Especially  between  the  two  kindred  na- 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH.        423 

tions,  dwelling  on  opposite  shores  of  the  Same  great 
sea,  nations  of  the  same  blood,  and  speaking  the  same 
language,  may  this  new  herald  of  thought  and  speech 
continue  to  bear  only  messages  of  peace  as  long  as  the 
winds  blow  and  the  waters  roll ! 


APPENDIX. 


HONORS  CONFERRED  IN  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA. 

THE  writer  of  the  foregoing  pages  has  carefully  refrained  from 
words  of  praise,  his  office  being  simply  to  give  the  truth  of  history. 
But  the  record  would  not  be  complete  without  some  notice*of  what 
followed  the  return  of  the  last  Expedition,  showing  how  the 
achievement  was  recognized  by  the  governments  and  the  people 
of  England  and  America. 

The  final  success  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph,  after  so  many  dis- 
appointments, produced  a  profound  impression  throughout  the  civi- 
lized world.  Yet  it  was  one  of  the  curious  instances  of  the  changes 
in  national  feeling  that,  whereas  in  1858  a  temporary  success  had 
kindled  the  wildest  enthusiasm  in  the  United  States,  while  in  Eng- 
land it  was  regarded  almost  with  indifference,  now  the  state  of 
feeling  in  the  two  countries  was  completely  reversed.  It  was  the 
theme  of  boundless  congratulation  in  Great  Britain,  while  in  Ame- 
rica the  public  mind — dulled  perhaps  by  the  excitements  of  four 
years  of  war — received  the  great  news  with  composure.  The  rea- 
son was.  in  part,  that  England  had  had  a  larger  share  in  the  later 
than  in  the  earlier  Expeditions.  Certainly  none  could  deny  the 
inestimable  services  rendered  by  her  men  of  science,  her  seamen, 
her  engineers,  and  her  great  capitalists ;  and  it  was  most  fit  that  the 
country  which  they  had  honored  should  do  them  honor  in  its  turn. 
For  this  purpose  a  grand  banquet  was  given  at  Liverpool  by  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  on  the  evening  of  the  first  of  October. 
The  Right  Hon.  Sir  Stafford  Northcote,  M.P.,  President  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  presided.  Lord  Stanley,  the  Minister  for  Foreign 


426  APPENDIX. 

Affairs,  spoke  heartily  of  the  friendly  relations  which  ought  to  exist 
with  America.  He  said :  "  We  are  going  to  bring  the  people  of 
England  and  the  United  States  into  a  far  closer  connection  with 
one  another  than  has  ever  existed  before.  That  is,  in  my  mind, 
a  great  gain.  They  have  no  opposite  interest ;  united,  they  are  a 
match  for  the  world,  while  a  quarrel  between  them  would  be  a 
fearful  injury,  not  only  to  themselves  but  to  the  best  interests  of 
mankind."  He  expressed  his  "  deep  conviction  that  on  the  union 
of  the  two  nations,  more  than  on  any  other  earthly  thing,  the  fu- 
ture of  civilization  depends." 

The  Chairman  gave  the  health  of  "  The  Original  Projectors  of 
the  Atlantic  Cable,"  which  he  proposed  early  in  order  to  give  Mr. 
Cyrus  Field,  (who  was  very  near  to  them,  although  he  happened 
to  be  in  America !)  a  chance  of  responding  to  the  toast.  A  message 
was  at  once  sent  from  the  room  to  Newfoundland,  and  a  reply  re- 
ceived back  that  Mr.  Field  had  left  for  New-York.  In  continuing 
his  speech,  he  said :  "  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  in  the  minds 
of  those  who  have  carefully  examined  the  history  of  these  transac- 
tions, that  to  Mr.  Cyrus  Field  it  is  that  we  owe  the  practical  carry- 
ing out  of  the  idea  which  has  borne  such  glorious  fruit.  I  am  sure 
there  is  none  to  whom  we  owe  more,  or  whose  name  stands  in 
prouder  connection  with  this  great  undertaking  than  the  name  of 
Mr.  Cyrus  Field." 

He  called  upon  Sir  Charles  Bright  to  reply,  who  detailed  some- 
what the  history  of  the  enterprise  from  the  very  beginning  in 
1856,  when  "Mr.  Cyrus  Field,  to  whom  the  world  was  more  in- 
debted than  to  any  other  person  for  the  establishment  of  the  line, 
came  to  England  upon  the  completion  of  the  telegraph  between 
Nova  Scotia  and  Newfoundland." 

Mr.  C.  E.  Rawlins,  Jr.,  said  :  "  I  may  be  allowed  to  refer  to  two  of 
that  brave  and  determined  band,  who  are  not  present,  and  yet  are 
conspicuous  by  their  absence.  I  refer  especially  to  Mr.  Cyrus  Field, 
of  New- York,  and  to  Mr.  Glass.  From  Mr.  Glass  we  have  received 
a  letter  dated,  I  regret  to  add,  from  his  sick  chamber ;  and  as  to 
Mr.  Field,  you  will  be  pleased  to  hear  that  Mr.  Bright  has  kindly 
brought  the  telegraph  wire  into  the  room  in  which  we  are  sitting, 
and  no  sooner  will  the  toast  involving  the  mention  of  Mr.  Field's 
name  be  given  from  the  chair,  than  it  will  be  flashed  with  light- 
ning speed  to  Valentia,  thence  to  Newfoundland,  and  if  Mr.  Field 


APPENDIX.  427 

is  at  home,  it  is  quite  possible  that  he  himself  will  receive  it  in 
New- York  ere  the  echo  of  your  ringing  cheers  has  well  died  away 
in  Liverpool." 

The  Chairman  then  read  the  following  communication  from  the 
Earl  of  Derby,  the  Prime  Minister  of  England  : 

"  BALMORAL,  Saturday,  Sept.  29, 1866. 

"  DEAR  SIR  STAFFORD  :  As  I  understand  you  are  to  have  the 
honor  of  taking  the  chair  at  the  entertainment  which  is  to  be  given 
on  Monday  next,  in  Liverpool,  to  celebrate  the  double  success  which 
has  attended  the  great  undertaking  of  laying  the  cable  of  1866, 
and  recovering  that  of  1865,  by  which  the  two  continents  of  Eu- 
rope and  America  are  happily  connected,  I  am  commanded  by  the 
Queen  to  make  known  to  you.  and  through  you  to  those  over  whom 
you  are  to  preside,  the  deep  interest  with  which  Her  Majesty  has 
regarded  the  progress  of  this  noble  work ;  and  to  tender  Her  Ma- 
jesty's cordial  congratulations  to  all  of  those  whose  energy  and 
perseverance,  whose  skill  and  science  have  triumphed  over  all  dif- 
ficulties, and  accomplished  a  success  alike  honorable  to  themselves 
and  to  their  country,  and  beneficial  to  the  world  at  large.  Her 
Majesty,  desirous  of  testifying  her  sense  of  the  various  merits 
which  have  been  displayed  in  this  great  enterprise,  has  command- 
ed me  to  submit  to  her,  for  special  marks  of  her  royal  favor,  the 
names  of  those  who,  having  had  assigned  to  them  prominent  posi- 
tions, may  be  considered  as  representing  the  different  departments, 
whose  united  labors  have  contributed  to  the  final  result ;  and  Her 
Majesty  has  accordingly  been  pleased  to  direct  that  the  honor  of 
knighthood  should  be  conferred  upon  Captain  Anderson,  the  able 
and  zealous  commander  of  the  Great  Eastern  ;  Professor  Thomson, 
whose  distinguished  science  has  been  brought  to  bear  with  eminent 
success  upon  the  improvement  of  submarine  telegraphy ;  and  on 
Messrs.  Glass  and  Canning,  the  manager  and  engineer  respectively 
of  the  Telegraph  Maintenance  Company,  whose  skill  and  expe- 
rience have  mainly  contributed  to  the  admirable  construction  and 
successful  laying  of  the  cable.  Her  Majesty  is  further  pleased  to 
mark  her  approval  of  the  public  spirit  and  energy  of  the  two  com- 
panies who  have  had  successively  the  conduct  of  the  undertaking, 
by  offering  the  dignity  of  a  baronetcy  of  the  United  Kingdom  to 
Mr.  Lampson,  the  Deputy  Chairman  of  the  original  company,  to 


428  APPENDIX. 

whose  resolute  support  of  the  project  in  spite  of  all  discourage- 
ments it  was  in  a  great  measure  owing  that  it  was  not  at  one  time 
abandoned  in  despair ;  and  to  Mr.  Gooch,  M.P.,  the  Chairman  of 
the  Company  which  has  finally  completed  the  design.  If  among 
the  names  thus  submitted  to  and  approved  by  Her  Majesty,  that 
of  Mr.  Cyrus  Field  does  not  appear,  the  omission  must  not  be  at- 
tributed to  any  disregard  of  the  eminent  services  which,  from  the 
first,  he  has  rendered  to  the  cause  of  transatlantic  telegraphy,  and 
the  zeal  and  resolution  with  which  he  has  adhered  to  the  prosecu- 
tion of  his  object,  but  to  an  apprehension  lest  it  might  appear  to 
encroach  on  the  province  of  his  own  Government,  if  Her  Majesty 
were  advised  to  offer  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  for  a  service 
rendered  alike  to  both  countries,  British  marks  of  honor,  which, 
following  the  example  of  another  highly  distinguished  citizen,  he 
might  feel  himself  unable  to  accept. 

"  I  will  only  add,  on  my  own  part,  how  cordially  I  concur  in  the 
object  of  the  meeting  over  which  you  are  about  to  preside,  and 
how  much  I  should  have  been  gratified  had  circumstances  permit- 
ted me  to  have  attended  in  person. 

"  I  am,  dear  Sir  Stafford,  very  sincerely  yours, 

(Signed)  "  DERBY. 

"  Right  Hon.  Sir  STAFFORD  NORTHCOTE,  Bart.,  M.P." 

In  addition,  Staff-Commander  Moriarty  and  Captain  Commerill 
of  the  Terrible  were  afterward  made  Commanders  of  the  Bath. 

As  the  English  Government  could  not  officially  recognize  and 
reward  the  projector  and  chief  promoter  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph, 
because  he  was  an  American,  it  was  left  to  individuals  to  express 
their  sense  of  his  services,  and  of  the  place  which  rightfully  be- 
longed to  him  in  the  history  of  this  enterprise.  That  position  was 
given  him  by  W.  H.  Russell,  LL.D.,  who  was  on  board  of  the 
Great  Eastern  in  1865,  and  wrote  the  official  History  of  that  Ex- 
pedition, (p.  10 :) 

"  It  has  been  said  that  the  greatest  boons  conferred  on  mankind, 
have  been  due  to  men  of  one  idea.  If  the  laying  of  the  Atlantic 
cable  be  among  those  benefits,  its  consummation  may  certainly  be 
attributed  to  the  man  who,  having  many  ideas,  devoted  himself  to 
work  out  one  idea,  with  a  gentle  force  and  patient  vigor  which 
converted  opposition  and  overcame  indifference.  Mr.  Field  may 


APPENDIX.  429 

be  likened  either  to  the  core,  or  the  external  protection,  of  the 
cable  itself.  At  times  he  has  been  its  active  life  ;  again  he  has 
been  its  iron-bound  guardian.  Let  who  will  claim  the  merit  of 
having  first  said  the  Atlantic  cable  was  possible;  to  Mr.  Field 
is  due  the  inalienable  merit  of  having  made  it  possible,  and  of 
giving  to  an  abortive  conception  all  the  attributes  of  healthy 
existence." 

Professor  Sir  William  Thomson,  on  the  eve  of  the  final  triumph, 
wrote :  "  My  dear  Field,  I  cannot  refrain  from  putting  down  in 
black  and  white  my  hearty  congratulations  on  your  great  success. 
Few  know  better  than  I  do  how  well  you  deserve  it." 

Eight  months  after  he  wrote  from  Scotland  :  "  I  am  sorry  I  had 
not  an  opportunity  of  saying  in  public  how  much  I  value  your  en- 
ergy and  perseverance  in  carrying  through  the  great  enterprise, 
and  how  clearly  you  stand  out  in  its  history  as  its  originator  and 
its  main-spring  from  beginning  to  end." 

Mr.  C.  F.  Varley,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  English  electricians, 
who  was  associated  in  the  work  from  an  early  day,  and  did  much 
to  solve  the  difficult  problems  of  ocean  telegraphy,  writes  to  Mr. 
Field :  "  You  did  more  than  any  other  to  float  the  concern,  and 
single-handed  saved  the  whole  scheme  from  collapse  more  than 
once." 

Captain  Sir  James  Anderson  repeated  the  same  conviction  in 
numberless  forms.  He  had  seen  the  labors  of  Mr.  Field  in  London 
to  infuse  his  own  energy  into  the  enterprise,  and  declared  again 
and  again  that  but  for  these  heroic  and  incessant  efforts  the  whole 
scheme  would  have  broken  down,  and  been  delayed  for  many  years. 

Such  expressions  from  English  associates  in  the  great  work 
might  be  multiplied  to  any  extent.  They  are  much  stronger  than 
any  language  used  by  the  author  of  this  volume,  who  has  pur- 
posely kept  back  such  testimonies,  lest  it  should  seem  that  he 
wished  to  exalt  an  individual,  when  he  sought  to  do  justice  to  all, 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 

But  to  an  American  no  praisa  is  so  dear  as  that  which  conies 
from  his  own  countrymen.  First  of  all  to  Mr.  Field,  was  that 
which  came  from  those  faithful  few  who  had  stood  by  him  and 
witnessed  his  exertions  for  twelve  long  years.  At  the  first  annual 
meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the  New- York,  Newfoundland,  and 


430  APPENDIX. 

London  Telegraph  Company,  the  following  resolution  was,  on 
motion  of  Mr.  Moses  Taylor,  seconded  by  Mr.  Wilson  G.  Huitf, 
unanimously  adopted  : 

Whereas,  This  Company  was  the  first  ever  formed  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  an  Atlantic  Telegraph;  an  enterprise  upon  which 
it  started  in  the  beginning  of  1854,  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Cyrus 
W.  Field,  and  which,  through  his  wise  and  unwearied  energy, 
acting  upon  this  Company,  and  others  afterwards  formed  in  con- 
nection with  it,  has  been  successfully  accomplished :  Therefore 
the  stockholders  of  this  Company,  at  this  their  first  meeting 
since  the  completion  of  the  enterprise,  desiring  to  testify  their 
sense  of  Mr.  Field's  services  : 

Resolve:  First — That  to  him  more  than  any  other  man,  the 
world  is  indebted  for  this  magnificent  instrument  of  good  ;  and 
but  for  him  it  would  not,  in  all  probability,  be  now  in  existence; 

Second — That  the  thanks  of  the  stockholders  of  this  Company 
are  hereby  given  to  Mr.  Field,  for  these  services,  which,  though 
so  great  in  themselves,  and  so  valuable  to  this  Company,  were 
rendered  without  any  remuneration ;  and 

Third — That  a  copy  of  this  resolution,  certified  by  the  Chair- 
man and  Secretary  of  this  meeting,  be  delivered  to  Mr.  Field 
as  a  recognition,  by  those  who  best  know,  of  his  just  right  to 
be  always  regarded  as  the  first  projector,  and  most  persistent 
and  efficient  promoter,  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph. 

PETER  COOPER,  Chairman. 
WILSON  G.  HUNT,  Secretwy. 


To  testify  the  public  appreciation  of  this  great  achievement, 
and  of  his  part  in  it,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  New- 
York  invited  Mr.  Field  to  a  public  banquet,  which  was 
given  on  the  fifteenth  of  November.  It  was  attended  by  about 
three  hundred  gentlemen — not  only  merchants  and  bankers,  but 
men  of  all  professions — lawyers  and  judges,  clergymen  and  pres- 
idents of  colleges,  members  of  the  Government  and  foreign  minis- 
ters, and  officers  of  the  army  and  navy..  The  President  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  A.  A.  Low,  Esq.,  presided,  and,  at  the  close  of  his 


APPENDIX.  431 

opening  speech,  said :  "  We  may  fairly  claim  that,  from  first  to  last, 
Cyrus  W.  Field  has  been  more  closely  identified  with  the  Atlantic 
Telegraph  than  any  other  living  man ;  and  his  name  and  his  fame, 
which  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  has  justly  left  to  the  care  of  the 
American  government  and  people,  will  be  proudly  cherished  and 
gratefully  honored.  We  are  in  daily  use  of  the  fruits  of  his  labors ; 
and  it  is  meet  that  the  men  of  commerce,  of  literature  and  of  law, 
of  science  and  art — of  all  the  professions  that  impart  dignity  and 
worth  to  our  nature — should  come  together  and  give  a  hearty,  joy- 
ous, and  generous  welcome  to  this  truly  chivalrous  son  of  America." 
Pie  proposed  the  health  of  their  guest : 

"  CYRUS  W.  FIELD,  the  projector  and  mainspring  of  the  Atlantic 
Telegraph  ;  while  the  British  government  justly  honors  those  who 
have  taken  part  with  him  in  this  great  work  of  the  age,  Ms  fame 
belongs  to  us,  and  will  be  cherished  and  guarded  by  his  country- 
men." 

In  his  reply,  Mr.  Field  gave  a  rapid  but  clear  sketch  of  the  his- 
tory of  this  enterprise  from  the  very  beginning — a  period  of  nearly 
thirteen  years — taking  pains  to  do  full  justice  to  all  who  shared 
in  its  labors,  its  struggles,  its  disappointments,  and  its  triumphs. 
Especially  did  he  award  the  highest  praise  to  the  government  of 
England  for  its  liberal  and  constant  support ;  to  her  men  of  science 
and  her  great  capitalists,  and  to  the  officers  of  ships,  electricians 
and  engineers,  who  had  taken  part  in  this  immense  undertaking. 
Such  scrupulous  desire  to  do  justice  to  all  his  associates  is  a  rebuke 
to  those  whose  appreciation  is  confined  by  national  boundaries. 
In  closing  his  remarks,  he  said : 

"  Of  the  results  of  this  enterprise — commercially  and  politically 
— it  is  for  others  to  speak.  To  one  effect  only  do  I  refer  as  the 
wish  of  my  heart — that,  as  it  brings  us  into  closer  relations  with 
England,  it  may  produce  a  better  understanding  between  the  two 
countries.  Let  who  will  speak  against  England — words  of  censure 
must  come  from  other  lips  than  mine.  I  have  received  too  much 
kindness  from  Englishmen  to  join  in  this  language.  I  have  eaten 
of  their  bread  and  drank  of  their  cup,  and  I  have  received  from 
them,  in  the  darkest  hours  of  this  enterprise,  words  of  cheer  which 
I  shall  never  forget ;  and  if  any  words  of  mine  can  tend  to  peace 
and  good  will,  they  shall  not  be  wanting.  I  beg  my  countrymen 
to  remember  the  ties  of  kindred.  Blood  is  thicker  than  water 


432  APPENDIX. 

America  with  all  her  greatness  has  come  out  of  the  loins  of  Eng- 
land ;  and  though  there  have  been  sometimes  family  quarrels — • 
bitter  as  family  quarrels  are  apt  to  be — still  in  our  hearts  there  is 
a  yearning  for  the  old  home,  the  land  of  our  fathers  ;  and  he  is  an 
enemy  of  his  country  and  of  the  human  race,  who  would  stir  up 
strife  between  two  nations  that  are  one  in  race,  in  language  and 
in  religion.  (Applause.)  I  close  with  this  sentiment :  ENGLAND 
AND  AMERICA  —  CLASPING  HANDS  ACROSS  THE  SEA,  MAY  THIS 
FIRM  GRASP  BE  A  PLEDGE  OF  FRIENDSHIP  TO  ALL  GENERATIONS  ! 
(Enthusiastic  applause  —  the  audience  rising  and  giving  three 
cheers.)" 

The  speeches  which  followed  were  all  in  the  same  manly  and 
generous  spirit.  Admiral  Farragut  said  that  he  was  in  New- York 
in  1858,  and  witnessed  the  celebration  of  that  year.  Few  had  felt 
more  deeply  interested  than  he  in  this  most  wonderful  enterprise. 
He  did  not  consider  that  our  navy  had  had  an  equal  share,  in  the 
final  contest  with  the  elements,  in  establishing  this  bond  of  union, 
yet  he  had  an  abiding  faith  that  whenever  or  wherever  the  navies 
of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  unite  their  efforts  for  the 
advancement  of  civilization,  science,  or  humanity,  they  would  sel- 
dom, if  ever,  fail. 

General  Meade  being  called  upon,  as  "  the  hero  of  Gettysburg," 
replied  that  there  was  but  one  "  hero"  on  this  occasion,  and  he  had 
travelled  a  hundred  miles  to  be  there  that  night  to  do  him  honor. 
He  said :  "  I  have  watched  with  eagerness  the  struggle  through 
which  he  has  passed  and  the  disasters  which  attended  his  early 
efforts ;  and  I  have  admired  and  applauded,  from  the  bottom 
of  my  heart,  the  tenacity  of  purpose  with  which  that  man  has 
continued  to  hold  on  to  his  original  idea,  with  a  firm  faith  to 
carry  to  completion  one  of  the  greatest  works  this  world  has  ever 
seen." 

Letters  were  read  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  from 
Chief  Justice  Chase,  from  General  Grant,  from  Sir  Frederick  Bruce, 
the  British  Minister,  from  Senators  Morgan  and  Sumner,  from 
General  Dix,  Minister  to  France,  and  others.  The  Chief  Justice 
of  the  United  States  wrote  : 

"  I  am  very  sorry  that  I  cannot  leave  "Washington  this  week,  and 
so  cannot  avail  myself  of  your  kind  invitation  to  join  you  in  con- 
gratulations to  Mr.  Field  upon  the  success  of  his  grand  undertaking 


APPENDIX.  433 

It  is  the  most  wonderful  achievement  of  civilization ;  and  to  hia 
sagacity,  patience,  perseverance,  courage,  and  faith,  is  civilization 
indebted  for  it. 

"  Such  works  entitle  their  authors  to  distinguished  rank  among 
public  benefactors.  You  will  write  the  name  of  your  honored 
guest  high  upon  that  illustrious  roll,  and  there  it  will  remain  in 
honor,  while  oceans  divide  and  telegraphs  unite  mankind." 

There  was  a  telegraph  instrument  in  the  room,  and  despatches 
were  received  during  the  evening  from  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of 
State,  and  other  members  of  the  Cabinet  at  Washington,  from  Lord 
Monck,  Governor-General  of  Canada,  from  the  Governor  of  New- 
foundland, and  others.  One,  from  Captain  Sir  James  Anderson, 
was  dated  at  London  the  same  day.  John  Bright  also  wrote  a 
despatch  and  sent  it  to  London,  but  by  some  means  it  was  not 
forwarded.  He  afterward  wrote  a  letter,  giving  the  message. 
It  was  as  follows : 

"  It  is  fitting  you  should  honor  the  man  to  whom  the  whole 
world  is  debtor.  He  brought  capital  and  science  together  to  do  his 
bidding,  and  Europe  and  America  are  for  ever  united.  I  cannot  sit 
at  your  table,  but  I  can  join  in  doing  honor  to  Cyrus  W.  Field. 
My  hearty  thanks  to  him  may  mingle  with  yours."  He  adds  that 
he  regarded  what  had  been  done  as  the  most  marvellous  thing  in 
human  history ;  as  more  marvellous  than  the  invention  of  the  art 
of  printing,  or,  he  was  almost  ready  to  say,  than  the  voyages  of  the 
Genoese ;  and  of  Mr.  Field,  he  says,  that  "  the  world  does  not  yet 
know  what  it  owes  to  him,  and  that  this  generation  will  never 
know  it." 

And  at  the  great  Reform  Meeting  held  at  Leeds  on  the  8th  of . 
October,  he  said :  "  A  friend  of  mine,  Cyrus  Field,  of  New-York, 
is  the  Columbus  of  our  time,  for  after  no  less  than  forty  pas- 
sages across  the  Atlantic,  in  pursuit  of  the  great  aim  of  his  life, 
he  has  at  length,  by  his  cable,  moored  the  New  World  close 
alongside  the  Old." 

Lest  it  might  seem  that  there  was  a  reluctance  abroad  to  recog- 
nize what  was  done  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  it  may  be  added 
here,  that  on  the  return  of  Mr.  Field  to  England  early  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  the  American  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Liverpool,  com- 
posed of  English  and  American  merchants  doing  business  with  the 


434  APPENDIX. 

United  States,  gave  a  banquet  to  Mm,  with  Sir  James  Anderson, 
Sir  Samuel  Canning,  and  Mr.  Willoughby  Smith,  to  all  of  whom 
were  presented  gold  medals,  in  commemoration  of  the  great  achieve- 
ment to  which  they  had  all  contributed.  The  Chairman,  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Rathbone,  Jr.,  of  Liverpool,  an  eminent  English  merchant,  in 
proposing  the  health  of  the  projector  and  the  associates  in  the  lay- 
ing of  the  Atlantic  cable,  said  :  "  This  success  is  one  of  which  we 
as  a  nation  are  proud,  and  rightly  so.  But  it  is  good,  for  our  hu- 
mility— a  virtue  in  which  we  do  not  naturally  excel — to  remember 
that  the  first  credit  of  that  success  is  due  not  to  an  Englishman,  but 
to  an  American,  Mr.  Cyrus  Field.  He  is  the  projector  of  the  plan  ; 
and  had  it  not  been  for  his  tenacity  of  purpose,  his  faith,  which,  if 
it  did  not  remove  mountains,  at  least  defied  oceans  to  shake  his 
purpose,  the  plan  would  long  ago  have  been  abandoned  in  despair. 
In  this  tenacity  of  purpose  and  inability  to  understand  defeat,  Mr. 
Field  is  a  representative  man  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  wherever 
found." 

The  American  residents  in  Paris  also  desired  to  give  Mr.  Field  a 
public  reception.  Their  letter,  dated  at  Paris,  on  the  twenty-eighth 
of  February,  is  as  follows : 

"  CYRUS  W.  FIELD,  ESQ.,  LONDON  : 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  The  undersigned  American  citizens  at  present  in 
Europe,  hearing  of  your  arrival  in  England,  and  desiring  to  ex- 
press their  warm  appreciation  of  your  untiring  labors  and  final  suc- 
cess in  laying  the  Atlantic  Telegraph,  desire  to  give  you  a  public 
reception  in  this  city  on  an  early  day,  or  at  your  own  convenience. 

"  Hoping  soon  to  hear  from  you, 

We  remain,  Sir, 

Your  sincere  friends. 

Signed  by  SAMUEL  F.  B.  MORSE,  N.  M.  BECKWITH,  JOHN  MUNROE, 
GEO.  T.  RICHARDS,  CHAS.  S.  P.  BOWLES,  JAMES  PHALEN,  JAMES 
M'KAYE,  and  many  others.  Mr.  Field's  engagements  compelled 
him  to  decline  the  invitation  thus  courteously  tendered. 

The  King  of  Italy  also  conferred  on  Mr.  Field  the  cross  of  the 
order  of  St.  Mauritius,  as  an  acknowledgement  from  the  country 
of  Columbus  to  one  who  had  done  so  much  to  unite  to  the  Old 
World  that  New  World  which  Columbus  discovered, 


APPENDIX.  435 

According  to  the  usage  of  our  country,  there  is  hardly  any  way 
in  which  the  Government  can  testify  its  gratitude  to  a  public  bene- 
factor. It  has  no  knighthoods  and  baronetcies  to  confer.  The 
thanks  of  Congress  are  very  rarely  bestowed  except  upon  distin- 
guished officers  in  the  army  or  navy,  who  have  won  a  battle  or  led 
a  campaign,  and  thus  rendered  eminent  services  to  the  Republic. 
Yet  such  was  the  feeling  on  this  occasion,  that  when  Senator  Mor- 
gan, of  New-York,  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  in  the  name  of  the 
country,  it  met  with  an  immediate  response.  It  was  at  once  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations,  which  reported 
unanimously  in  its  favor;  and  when,  some  weeks  after,  giving 
time  for  due  deliberation,  it  was  brought  up  for  action,  it  passed 
with  entire  unanimity.  In  the  House  of  Representatives  it  was  pre- 
ceded by  many  bills,  so  that  there  was  danger  that  it  might  not 
be  reached  before  the  end  of  the  session,  yet  on  the  very  last  day 
Speaker  Colfax  requested  unanimous  consent  of  the  House  to  take 
it  up  out  of  its  order,  which  was  granted,  and  the  resolution  was 
then  read  three  times,  and  passed  unanimously.  It  is  as  follows : 

"Resolved,  ly  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  /States  of  America,  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  thanks 
of  Congress  be,  and  they  hereby  are,  presented  to  Cyrus  W.  Field 
of  New-York,  for  his  foresight,  courage,  and  determination  in 
establishing  telegraphic  communication  by  means  of  the  Atlantic 
cable,  traversing  mid-ocean  and  connecting  the  Old  World  with 
the  New ;  and  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  re- 
quested to  cause  a  gold  medal  to  be  struck,  with  suitable  em- 
blems, devices,  and  inscriptions,  to  be  presented  to  Mr.  Field. 

"  SEC.  2.  And  le  it  further  resolved,  That  when  the  medal  shall 
have  been  struck,  the  President  shall  cause  a  copy  of  this  joint  reso- 
lution to  be  engrossed  on  parchment,  and  shall  transmit  the  same, 
together  with  the  medal,  to  Mr.  Field,  to  be  presented  to  him  in 
the  name  of  tie  people  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

"  SEC.  3.  And  le  it  further  resolved,  That  a  sufficient  sum  of 
money  to  carry  this  resolution  into  effect  is  hereby  appropriated 
out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

"Approved  March  2, 1867. 

"ANDREW  JOHNSON." 


436  APPENDIX. 

This  action  of  Congress  readied  Mr.  Field  in  England.  As  he 
was  about  returning  to  America,  Lord  Derby,  still  at  the  head  of 
the  government,  addressed  to  him  the  following  letter  : 

4k  * 

ST.  JAMES'S-  SQUARE,  March  17,  1867. 

SIR  :  Understanding  that  you  are  on  the*  point  of  returning  to 
the  United  States,  after  a  short  visit  to  this  country,  I  am  anxious 
to  take  the  Opportunity  of  saying  to  yourself,  what,  in  the  Queen's 
name,  I  was  'authorized  to  write  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Banquet 
held  in  the  autumn  at  Liverpool,  how  much  of  the  success  of  the 
great  undertaking  of  laying  the  Atlantic  Cable  was  due  to  the 
energy  and  perseverance  with  which,  from  the  very  first,  in  spite 
of  all  discouragements,  you  adhered  to  and  supported  the  project. 
Your  signal  services  in  carrying  out  this  great  undertaking  have 
been  already  fully  recognized  by  Congress ;  and  it  would  have 
been  very  satisfactory  to  the  Queen  to  have  included  your  name 
among  those  on  whom,  in  commemoration  of  this  great  event, 
her  Majesty  was  pleased  to  bestow  British  honors,  if  it  had  not 
been  felt  that,  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  it  would  hardly 
have  been  competent  to  you  to  accept  them.  As  long,  however,  as 
the  telegraphic  communication  between  the  two  Continents  lasts, 
your  name  cannot  fail  to  be  honorably  associated  with  it.  Wish 
ing  you  a  safe  and  prosperous  return  to  your  own  country, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

CYRUS  FIELD,  Esq.  DERBY. 

Gratifying  as  this  letter  was  from  such  a  source,  there  were 
some  in  England  who  felt  that  there  was  still  a  debt  of  honor  to 
be  paid,  which  required  some  public  testimonial.  Accordingly,  on 
Mr,  Field's  return  to  London,  in  1868,  they  prepared  for  him  an 
imposing  demonstration  in  the  form  of  a  Banquet,  given  at  Willis's 
Kooms,  on  the  first  of  July,  at  which,  was  assembled  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  companies  that  ever  met  to  do  honor  to  a 
private  citizen  of  any  country.  It  embraced  over  four  hundred 
gentlemen  of  all  ranks,  ministers  of  state,  members  of  parliament, 
both  Lords  and  Commons ;  officers  of  the  army  and  navy ;  great 
capitalists — merchants  and  bankers  ;  men  of  science  and  of 
letters;  inventors,  electricians,  and  engineers — men  eminent  in 
every  walk  of  life.  The  Duke  of  Argyll  presided,  and  speeches 


APPENDIX.  437 

were  made  by  three  members  of  the  government — Sir  John 
Pakington,  Secretary  of  State  for  War ;  Sir  Stafford  Northcote, 
Secretary  of  State  for  India ;  and  Sir  Alexander  Milne,  First  Sea 
Lord  of  the  Admiralty  ;  by  John  Bright ;  by  the  venerable  Lord 
Stratford  de  Redcliffe,  so  long  the  British  Minister  at  Constantinople  ; 
by  M.  de  Lesseps,  the  projector  of  the  Suez  Canal,  who  had  come 
from  Egypt  expressly  to  be  present ;  and  by  others.  These  speeches 
were  afterward  collected  by  the  Committee,  with  the  comments  of 
the  London  Press,  and  make  a  volume  of  much  interest,  as  a 
memorial  of  the  great  event  which  was  thus  celebrated,  and  of  the 
sagacity,  courage,  and  perseverance  which  were  thus  honored. 
It  was  a  tribute  such  as  is  rarely  paid  to  any  man  while  living — 
such  honors  generally  being  reserved  for  the  dead — and  is  still 
more  honorable  in  this  case,  alike  to  the  givers  and  the  receiver, 
in  that  it  was  paid  by  the  people  of  one  country  to  a  citizen  of 
another — to  one  who  was  regarded  in  both  as  their  common 
benefactor. 

The  work,  thus  honored  by  the  public  of  England  and  America, 
obtained  its  highest  recognition  —  that  of  all  Europe  —  at  the 
great  Exhibition  in  Paris,  which,  gathering  the  products  of  the 
genius  and  skill  and  industry  of  all  nations,  recognized  the  labors 
of  men  of  all  countries,  who,  by  their  discoveries  or  great  enter- 
prises, had  rendered  eminent  services  to  the  cause  of  civilization. 
To  this  work,  which  united  two  hemispheres,  and  which  thus  pro- 
moted the  knowledge,  the  intercourse,  and  the  happiness  of  man- 
kind, it  awarded  the  GRAND  PRIZE,  the  highest  distinction  it  had 
to  bestow  on  those  who  had  been  the  greatest  benefactors  of  the 
human  race.  This  was  accorded  jointly  to  Mr.  Field,  by  name, 
and  to  the  Anglo-American  and  Atlantic  Telegraph  Companies, 
thus  recognizing,  as  was  most  due,  the  services  of  those  great  asso- 
ciations of  British  capitalists  which  had  so  largely  supplied  the 
means  for  this  vast  undertaking,  while  it  gave  the  first  place  to 
the  man  who  had  been  their  heroic  leader. 


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